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BV  4501  .B42  1895 

Beet,  Joseph  Agar,  1840- 

1924. 
The  new  life  in  Christ 


THE     NEW     LIFE     IN     CHRIST 

A   STUDY  IN  PERSONAL  RELIGION 


BOOKS  BY  JOSEPH  AGAR  BEET,  D.D. 


Credentials  of  the  Gospel $0  90 

Holiness  as  Understood  by  Writers  of  the  Bible.  35 

Through  Christ  to  God 1   50 

The  New  Life  in  Christ, 1   50 


The  New  Life 

IN  Christ 


A  STUDY  IN  PERSONAL  RELIGION 


JOSEPH  AGAR' BEET,  D.D. 


NEW    YORK  :     HUNT    &    EATON 
CINCINNATI :  CRANSTON  4  CURTS 


•'Thou  liast  made  us  for  Thyself;  ami  restless  is  our  heart  till  it  finds 
rest  in  Thee." — Augustine. 


PREFACE 

'THHIS  volume  is  a  necessary  sequel  to  an  earlier 
one  entitled  Through  Christ  to  God,. in  which 
I  endeavoured  to  set  forth  the  historical  basis  of  the 
Christian  faith  and  hope.  The  present  volume  goes  on 
to  delineate  the  goodly  structure  of  the  Christian  life 
which  rests  securely  on  that  firm  foundation.  In  the 
former  volume,  what  may  be  called  the  theological 
element  claimed  almost  exclusive  attention.  In  the 
present  one,  inward  spiritual  experience  and  practical 
life  occupy  a  large  place.  Each  volume  needs  to 
be  supplemented  by  the  other.  For  theology  is 
useless  unless  it  bears  fruit  in  righteousness  and 
peace  and  beneficence  ;  and  inward  experience  is  fitful 
and  uncertain  unless  it  rests  on  reliable  external 
evidence. 

The  New  Life  in  Christ  pourtrayed  in  this  volume, 
I  have  endeavoured  to  investigate  according  to  the 
principles  of  scientific  research.  We  have  found  it 
to  be  one  organic  whole  consisting  of  various  elements 
mutually  related  and  holding  definite  relations  to  other 


vi  PREFACE 

matters  of  human  thought  and  knowledge.  This  mode 
of  study  has  given  to  us,  in  some  measure,  a  connected 
and  intelligent  view  of  the  whole  subject  of  personal 
religion. 

This  department  of  theology  has  received  from 
theologians  much  less  attention  than  have  the  great 
doctrines  of  the  Atonement  and  the  Person  of  Christ 
dealt  with  in  the  former  volume.  It  has  been  for  the 
more  part  left  to  devotional  and  practical  works  which 
have  treated  of  special  topics  singly  without  any  attempt 
to  view  the  Christian  life  as  a  whole.  But  without  such 
view  of  the  whole  subject  there  can  be  no  comprehensive 
grasp  even  of  its  details.  And  no  study  of  details 
can  reveal  the  more  wonderful  harmony  pervading  the 
whole. 

The  comparative  neglect  by  theologians  of  the  subject 
now  before  us  is  in  part  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
its  investigation  is  much  more  closely  connected  with 
the  student's  own  spiritual  Itfe  than  is  the  investigation 
of  what  may  be  called  the  objective  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ — i.e.y  those  which  set  forth  that  which 
God  has  long  ago  done  for  us  in  Christ.  We  now 
consider  what  God  does  in  us  day  by  day  by  His 
Spirit  dwelling  in  our  hearts.  This  can  be  known  only 
by  actual  experience.  By  this,  therefore,  is  limited  each 
one's  power  to  delineate  the  New  Life  in  Christ.     And 


PREFACE  vii 

a  theologian  is  naturally  reluctant  to  enter  upon  a 
course  of  teaching  which  will  expose  the  imperfections 
of  his  own  spiritual  life.  But,  however  this  may  be,  the 
inner  life  of  the  servants  of  Christ  needs,  and  will  well 
repay,  careful  systematic  investigation.  The  spiritual 
insight  needful  for  the  highest  success  in  such  investiga- 
tion, I  cannot  claim.  I  write  only  as  a  careful  student  of 
Holy  Scripture  and  as  one  who  has  derived  from  that 
study  abundant  spiritual  blessing.  This  personal  benefit 
prompts  a  hope  that  others  may  be  benefited  by  that 
which  has  been  profitable  to  myself  And  perhaps  the 
manifest  defects  of  my  work  may  prompt  others  who 
have  followed  the  Master  more  closely  than  1  have  done 
to  enrich  the  Church  with  the  profounder  lessons  which 
they  have  learned. 

As  embodying  original  research,  this  volume  will,  I 
hope,  be  found  useful  even  to  those  most  familiar  with 
the  Bible  and  with  theology,  and  especially  to  those 
who,  as  Christian  pastors,  are  called  by  the  great 
Shepherd  to  feed  His  flock.  It  is,  however,  written  in 
a  style  which  will  be  easily  understood  by  all  intelligent 
and  devout  men  and  women ;  and  especially  by  all 
Christian  workers.  These  last  need,  as  an  equipment 
for  their  work,  an  accurate  and  comprehensive  know- 
ledge of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  For  they  can  teach  only 
what  they  know.     And   only  by  conveying  to  others  a 


PREFACE 


knowledge  of  Christ  can  we  lead  them  to  vital  union 
with  Him. 

I  therefore  cherish  a  hope  that  this  literary  work 
of  mine  may  render  help  to  many  who  in  various 
ways  are  "  fellow-workers  for  the  Kingdom  of  God."  To 
render  such  help  is  the  aim  and  reward  of  theological 
research. 

The  Index  of  Scripture  Passages  I  owe  to  Mr.  G.  A. 
Cia}'ton,  son  of  an  old  and  valued  friend,  Rev.  A. 
Clayton. 


Plymouth, 

2/^th  July,  1895. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Lect.  I.    Our  Starting-point  and  our  Aim        .       .       .        i 

Results  attained  in  the  former  volume — No  effectual  relief  of  our 
deep  spiritual  need — Yet  in  our  search  for  deliverance  from 
the  bondage  of  sin  we  are  not  without  hope — The  path  before 
us. 

PART   I. 

THE   RUIN. 

Lect.  II.    Man  as  created :  Flesh  and  Spirit    ...       4 

The  distinctive  and  multiform  garb  of  life — Living  bodies  dependent 
on  their  environment — An  unseen  element — The  spirit  is 
higher  than,  yet  conditioned  by,  the  body— Animals  attain 
their  highest  well-being  by  a  life  according  to  flesh — To  man, 
such  life  is  degrading — New  Testament  teaching  about  flesh 
and  spirit — Gen.  ii.  7. 

Lect.  III.    Man  under  Probation       .       .      '.       .       .10 

Certain  inevitable  sequences — The  laws  of  nature — Other  more 
important  sequences  :  the  Moral  Sense --They  come  from  the 
Author  of  our  being — The  far-reaching  influence  of  our  body 
— Man's  inborn  power  of  choice — Also  due  to  his  Creator — 
Man's  dual  nature  is  the  basis  of  his  probation. 

Lect.  IV.    Sin  and  Bondage 17 

All  have  sinned — Universal  moral  bondage  taught  in  the  New 
Testament — Confirmed  by  experience— Spiritual  death — 
Limitation  of  the  metaphor — The  Law  of  Sinai — Unavailing 
efforts  to  obey  it — They  increase  our  self-condemnation- 
Teaching  of  Paul — One  ray  of  hope. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Lect.  V.    The  First  Fall  and  its  Results  ....      25 

The  universality  of  sin  suggests  an  inborn  fault — Eph.  ii.  3, 
Psa.  11.  4,  5— John  iii.  5,  6,  Job  xv.  i4~Rom.  v.  12 — Men 
die  because  Adam  sumed — Other  consequences — Inherited 
moral  bondage— Apparent  injustice — It  is  removed  in  Christ 
— This  inference  is  not  overturned  by  Geology — For  the  Moral 
Sense  lies  beyond  its  ken — Evidence  scanty,  but  sufficient. 

Lect.  VI.    Man  unsaved 2,^ 

Two  elements  in  man,  each  claiming  to  control  him — Man  yielded 
to  the  lower — Universal  moral  inability — Yet  there  are  in 
man  remains  of  good — Rom.  vii.  14-25 — Divine  influences  — 
The  inborn  Moral  Sense — Rom.  ii.  14 — A  moral  displacement 
— A  theory  which  meets  all  the  facts  of  the  case — The 
salvation  needed. 

Sin— Trangression  of  limits — Often  prompted  by  bodily  needs— 
The  origin  of  sin. 


PART    II. 
THE  RESTORATION. 


Lect.  VII.    Repentance,  Faith,  Justification    ...      46 

The  historic  working  out  of  the  purpose  of  salvation — Personal 
salvation— Repentance— The  voice  of  pardon — Faith— Justi- 
fication— Does  not  remove  all  consequences  of  sin — A  new 
hope. 

Lect.  VIII.    Adoption 50 

The  Son  of  God — Later-born  sons — Angels— Israel— Sons  of  God 
by  faith— Adoption — Its  great  significance— Rom.  viii.  19,  23 
— Heirs  of  God — Not  sons  by  creation — Acts  xvii.  28 — The 
prodigal  son — The  universal  sonship  ignored— Adoption  by 
faith — Its  practical  worth. 

Lect.  IX.    The  Spirit  of  Adoption 63 

The  Spirit  of  the  Son— A  Guide  and  Saviour— Abba,  Father- 
Christ's  promise  of  the  Spirit— The  Spirit  in  the  Old  Testament 
— In  the  New  Testament  —  The  divine-human  cry  —  The 
revealed  love  of  God. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Lect.  X.    Assurance  of  Salvation 72 

Rom.  viii.  i6— A  joint  testimony — The  witness  of  the  Spirit — 
The  moral  guidance  of  the  Spirit— The  argument  in  Rom. 
viii.  12-17— A  confident  assurance  of  the  favour  of  God— The 
witness  of  our  conscience— Forgiveness  of  sins  in  I  John- 
Eternal  Life — The  doctrine  guarded. 

Lect.  XI.    The  New  Birth 83 

A  metaphor  derived  from  natural  birth— The  water  of  Baptism- 
Various  New  Testament  teaching— The  doctrine  of  Adoption 
contrasted  with  that  of  the  New  Birth -Their  harmony- 
Results  attained. 


PART   IIL 

THE    WAY  OF  HOLINESS. 

Lect.  XIL    Holiness  in  the  Old  Testament      ...      93 

The  word  holy  in  the  New  Testament  recalls  its  use  in  the  Old — 
The  holy  objects  stood  in  special  relation  to  God— Objective 
and  subjective  holiness— Earlier  uses  of  the  word— The  later 
books  of  the  Old  Testament— The  word  holy  in  the  Septuagint 
— Two  Greek  words — The  Apocrypha. 

Lect.  XIIL    The  Holiness  of  Christ 108 

The  earlier  use  continues— The  Holy  Spirit— The  Incarnate  Son 
— His  devotion  to  God — ^John  and  Jesus — Devotion  to  the 
purpose  of  salvation — The  holiness  of  the  Eternal  Son. 

Lect.  XIV.    The  Holiness  of  the  Servants  of  Christ       .    115 

The  saints— A.  contrast  to  the  Old  Testament —The  saints  at 
Corinth  —  Subjective  Christian  holiness  —  The  Christian 
temple,  priesthood,  and  sacrifices — I  Cor.  vii.  14 — i  Tim. 
iv.  4— Summary. 

Christian  holiness  explains  the  Levitical  Ritual. 


COI^  TENTS 


PAGE 

Lect.  XV.    The  New  Life  of  Devotion  to  Christ       .       .    127 

The  devotion  of  the  Incarnate  Son — It  saved  the  world— Christ 
claims  from  us  a  like  devotion— Excellence  of  the  ideal  life 
thus  set  before  us — It  involves  love  to  God — God's  earlier 
love  to  us— It  prompts  love  to  our  fellows,  and  ceaseless 
activity  for  their  good — Restored  harmony  of  man  with  God, 
and  of  man  with  man. 


Lect.  XVI.    The  New  Life  in  the  Spirit  of  God       .       .140 

"What  God  claims,  man  cannot  give— It  must  be  God's  work  in 
man — Through  the  Spirit— A  distinctive  feature  of  the  Gospel 
— Foretold  in  the  Old  Testament. 


Lect.  XVII.    The  New  Life  in  Faith 148 

A  human  condition— Faith-  -Teaching  of  Paul  and  others — Sanc- 
tifying Faith— Distinguished  from  Justifying  Faith— Implies 
consecration — Appropriateness  as  a  condition — Three  insepar- 
able elements  of  the  New  Life — New  aspect  of  religion. 


Lect.  XVJII.    The  New  Life  in  its  further  relation  to 

Christ 160 

For  Christ — Through  Christ— Like  Christ— In  Christ,  and  Christ 
in  us— With  Christ — Dead,  buried,  risen,  and  enthroned  with 
Christ — Fresh  light  on  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ. 


Lect.  XIX.    The  New  Life  in  its  relation  to  Sin      .       .174 

Continued  conflict  with  sin — We  are  now  victorious — Yet  sin  is 
not  annihilated — Gradual  destruction  of  sinful  appetites — 
Through  faith—  Confirms  our  faith. 


Lect.  XX.    The  New  Life  in  its  relation  to  the  Law      .    182 

The  authority  of  the  Moral  Law — Dead  to  the  Law — Yet  the  Law 
is  to  be  fulfilled  in  us — Romans  vii.  1-4 — The  gift  of  the  Spirit 
— Paul  and  James — Their  deep  harmony. 


coxTLyrs 


Lect.  XXI.    The  New  Life  in  its  relation  to  Things 

Around 189 

^^an's  dependence  on  his  environment — The  successful  struggle 
against  it— All  things  work  together  for  good — Plato— Paul's 
teaching  verified — All  is  now  changed — Right  with  God,  and 
with  all  else. 

Lect.  XXII.    The  Christian  Conflict 198 

The  athletic  contests  of  Greece — The  Christian  athlete  — He  does 
not  fight  alone — The  victory  is  by  faith — Two  aspects  of  the 
contest — The  peace  of  God. 

Lect.  XXIII.     Perseverance  in  the  New  Life  .       .       .204 

Paul's  joyful  confidence — Yet  victory  is  conditioned  by  faith. 

Lect.  XXIV.    Spiritual  Growth 208 

Faith  sometimes  gradual — Definite  stages— Gradual  development  — 
Growth  in  knowledge. 

Lect.  XXV.    The  Means  of  Grace.    Prayer      .       .       .215 

The  preached  Word — Teaching— Study  of  Holy  Scripture- The 
Sacraments. 

Prayer— Sanctioned  by  Christ— Paul's  desire  for  his  readers' prayers 
— Rationale  of  prayer — God  will  answer  prayer  only  in 
harmony  with  His  will — Various  forms  of  prayer — Inter- 
cession of  Christ  and  of  the  Spirit. 

The  Church  of  Christ. 

Lect.  XXVI.    Results  attained 231 


PART  IV. 

7//E  DIVINE   AND  HUMAN  IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  IIFE. 

Lect.  XXVII.    The  Eternal  Purpose 241 

The  one  purpose  of  creation  and  redemption — Not  prompted  by 
foreseen  merit  of  man— Teaching  of  the  New  Testament — 
Election  and  predestination. 


CONTENTS 


Lect.  XXVIII.    The  Progressive  Realisation  .       .        .250 

Creation  of  matter  and  life  and  reason — Suffering  and  sin — The 
historic  development  of  the  kingdom  of  God— Inward  spiritual 
progress  of  individuals. 

Lect.  XXIX.    Human  Freedom 255 

Difference  between  calamity  and  crime — Man's  consciousness  of 
his  freedom — Its  moral  helpfulness — The  Philosophical  Neces- 
sity of  J.  S.  Mill  and  H.  Spencer— Its  baselessness — Man's 
freedom  is  a  part  of  God's  eternal  purpose. 

Lect.  XXX.    The  Divine-Human  Christian  Life      .       .    263 

Divine  influences,  and  man's  self-surrender  to  them — Teaching  of 
the  New  Testament — Not  inconsistent  with  the  omnipotence 
of  God — The  Christian  life  is  both  passive  and  active — God 
hardens  the  impenitent — Slow  progress  of  the  Gospel. 

Another  theory — Teaching  of  Calvin  and  Augustine — Arminius 
and  the  Remonstrants — The  Synod  of  Dort — The  teaching  of 
Wesley. 


Lect.  XXXL    The  Eternal  Realisation     .... 

The  way  of  salvation — Purposed  from  eternity— Partial  present 
accomplishment — Real  progress — Prospect  of  further  pro- 
gress— The  perfect  and  final  realisation. 


'-r 


PART   V. 
THE  RE  VELA  TION  OF  GOD  IN  THE  NE  W  LIFE  IN  CHRIST 
Lect.  XXXI  L    God  our  Father 284 

Marks  of  an  intelligent  and  moral  Creator-  Confirmed  by  the 
Gospel — And  by  the  spiritual  life  of  the  servants  of  Christ — 
God  our  Father — His  love  to  man — God  is  love — The  holiness 
of  God — A  new  and  definite  conception  of  God. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Lect.  XXXIII.    The  Son  of  God 296 

Unique  dignity  of  Christ — The  love  of  God  manifested  in  the  Son 
— Creation  through  the  Son — The  God-man — Three  elements. 

Lect.  XXXIV.    The  Spirit  of  God  .        .        .        .301 

In  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New — Other  teaching — The  Para- 
clete— ^The  Spirit  of  the  Truth — A  Person  distinct  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son — The  Procession  of  the  Spirit — The  Creed 
of  Constantinople— />7/^(7«^ — Practical  significance  of  the  per- 
sonality of  the  Spirit — The  Holy  Spirit. 

Lect.  XXXV.    The  Eternal  Three  in  One  .        .        .       .314 

Claims  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth — A  new  conception  of  God— Father, 
Son,  and  Spirit  —Three  Persons  and  one  God — The  love  of 
God  manifested  in  Christ — Yet  sin  was  not  needful  for  the 
full  manifestation  of  God — Distinct  functions  of  the  three 
Divine  Persons — Divine  avenues  of  the  self-manifestation  of 
God. 

Lect.  XXXVL    Angels,  Good  and  Bad      .       .       .       .323 

Meaning  of  the  word  angel  -The  angel  of  Jehovah — The  cherubs — 
An  angel-interpreter — Michael,  the  angel-prince — Successive 
ranks  of  angels. 

The  great  adversary — Demons — The  unseen  and  personal  realm  of 
evil — Created  by  God,  yet  fallen. 

Lect.  XXXVII.    Man  at  rest  in  God ^t^z 

Man  created  by  God  and  for  God — His  fall  — Conscious  ruin — The 
promise  of  pardon — Faith,  pardon,  gift  of  the  Spirit — Christ 
claims  unreserved  devotion — This  devotion  God  works  in  us — 
All  things  now  changed — Growth — The  means  of  grace — The 
final  consummation — The  religion  taught  by  Christ  is  the 
highest  form  of  religion  known  to  man. 


LECTURE   I 

OUR  STARTING  POINT  AND   OUR  AIM 

IN  an  earlier  volume  entitled  ThrougJi  Christ  to  God 
I  have  endeavoured  to  prove  by  evidence  of  various 
kinds  that  beyond  and  above  the  visible  universe  is  an 
intelligent  and  loving  Creator  and  Ruler  ;  that  the 
Moral  Sense  of  man  is  His  Voice  proclaiming  His  Will 
touching  the  action  of  His  intelligent  creatures  ;  and 
that  beyond  the  grave  exact  retribution  awaits  all  men. 
These  earliest  results  of  our  inquiry  awoke  in  us  a 
consciousness  of  personal  sin  and  a  fear  of  coming 
punishment.  From  this  dark  apprehension  we  found 
no  refuge  either  in  the  material  world  or  in  our  own 
moral  sense  ;  except  some  faint  and  general  indications 
of  the  goodness  of  God.  Further  research,  however,  in 
a  different  direction,  proved  to  us  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
whose  moral  teaching  and  personal  character  at  once 
won  the  homage  of  whatever  in  us  is  noblest  and  best, 
taught  that  all  who  believe  the  good  news  of  salvation 
announced  by  Him  are,  in  spite  of  their  past  sins, 
received  into  the  favour  of  God  as  heirs  of  eternal  life  ; 
and  taught  also  that  this  salvation  comes  to  them  through 
His   own    approaching   and  voluntary  death    upon  the 

I 


2  OUR  STARTING  POINT  AND   OUR  AIM       [Lect.  I 

cross  ;  that  He  claimed  to  be  a  sharer  of  the  infinity 
and  eternity  of  God,  thus  giving  to  men  a  new  concep- 
tion of  God,  a  conception  now  conterminous  in  the  main 
with  human  progress  ;  and  that  in  proof  of  this  claim 
He  rose  from  the  dead.  The  resurrection  of  Christ 
was  to  us  complete  proof  both  of  the  justness  of  His 
claims  and  of  the  truth  of  the  good  news  of  salvation 
announced  by  Him.  And  this  proof  was  confirmed  by 
the  effect  of  Christianity,  as  manifested  in  the  immense 
superiority  of  the  Christian  nations  to  all  others. 

The  results  of  this  theological  research  did  something 
towards  supplying,  in  one  direction,  the  deep  spiritual 
need  evoked  by  the  indications  of  punishment  beyond 
the  grave.  But  they  gave  no  effectual  relief  For  our 
inborn  Moral  Sense  asserts,  with  an  authority  we  dare 
not  contradict,  that  God  smiles  only  on  those  who  obey 
His  commands.  And  this  obedience,  long  experience 
proves  that  we  are  unable  to  give.  Indeed  our  efforts 
to  do  right  reveal  the  presence  in  our  hearts  of  a  hostile 
power  compelling  us  to  continue  in  sin.  From  this 
moral  bondage,  we  now  seek  deliverance.  Such  deliver- 
ance is  the  needful  complement  of  the  pardon  of  past 
sin  which  we  have  already  traced  to  the  lips  of  Him  who 
was  raised  from  the  dead. 

In  this  search  we  are  not  without  hope.  For  the  love 
of  God  manifested  in  the  costly  gift  of  His  only-begotten 
Son  to  die  for  man  assures  us  that  He  will  not  leave 
incomplete  the  work  for  which  Christ  died.  And  the 
power  manifested  in  His  resurrection  from  the  dead 
assures     s  that  God  is  able  to  raise  even  sinners  from 


Lect.  I]        OUR  STARTING   POINT  AND   OUR  AIM  3 

that  moral  death  which  is  the  most  terrible  element  in 
the  penalty  of  sin.  This  needful  moral  resurrection 
into  new  life  is  the  specific  object  of  the  present 
volume. 

We  shall  consider,  in  Part  I.,  the  state  of  man  as 
unsaved,  and  the  relation  of  this  state  of  ruin  to  the  first 
sin  of  the  first  man.  In  PART  II.  we  shall  survey  the 
gate  through  which  sinners  pass  from  bondage  into 
liberty.  Our  next  task  will  be  to  trace,  in  Part  III.,  the 
path  of  life  entered  at  the  narrow  gate,  looking  at  it 
from  various  points  of  view,  up  to  the  close  of  man's 
probation  on  earth.  This  new  life  we  shall  find  to  be 
in  its  source  and  nature  superhuman  ;  and  we  shall 
.seek,  in  Part  IV.,  the  relation  between  its  divine  and 
human  elements.  This  investigation  will  be  to  us,  in 
Part  V.,  a  new  and  fuller  revelation  of  God,  and  of  each 
Person  of  the  eternal  Trinity.  And  in  God  thus  revealed 
to  man,  and  in  the  conception  of  God  thus  obtained,  we 
shall  find  satisfaction  for  every  noble  yearning  of  man, 
a  stimulus  to  activity  of  the  best  kind,  a  profound  and 
secure  rest  of  man  in  God. 

Throughout  this  volume  I  shall  assume  as  correct  the 
results  attained  in  the  former  volume.  These  I  shall 
bring  to  bear  on  the  moral  and  spiritual  life  of  men. 
By  so  doing  I  shall  vindicate  for  Theology  its  claim  to 
be  the  Science  of  Religion. 


PART    I 

THE  RUIN 


LECTURE    II 

MAN  AS  CREATED:    FLESH  AND  SPIRIl 

IN  order  to  understand  the  salvation  announced  by 
Christ,  it  is  needful  first  to  understand  in  some 
measure  the  condition  and  position  of  man  as  unsaved  ; 
and  to  trace  his  present  state  of  sin  and  bondage  back 
to  that  in  which  he  sprang  from  the  Creator's  hands. 
This  last  we  can  best  do  by  studying  those  elements 
of  his  present  condition  which  evidently  belong  to  his 
original  constitution. 

Wherever  we  find  life,  we  find  it  clothed  in  a  dis- 
tinctive visible  and  tangible  form.  This  outward  garb 
of  life  presents  infinite  variety,  a  variety  far  greater  than 
that  which  distinguishes  from  each  other  the  various 
forms  of  inorganic  matter,  i.e.  matter  which  has  no 
immediate  connection  with  life.  Yet,  amid  infinite 
variety  of  form,  all  living  objects,  animal  or  vegetable, 
are  closely  related  both  in  their  chemical  composition, 
their  cellular  structure,  and   even   in   the   functions   of 


Lect.  II]       MAN  AS   CREATED:    FLESH  AND  SPIRIT  5 

vegetable  and  animal  life.  Moreover,  the  various  kinds 
of  animals  are,  in  different  degrees,  similar  even  in  the 
general  arrangement  of  their  bodies. 

Living  bodies  differ  from  all  others  in  their  great 
dependence  on  their  environment,  in  their  need  of  food, 
in  their  growth  .and  reproduction,  and  in  their  liability 
to  change  and  decay.  Without  air  and  food,  or  if 
exposed  to  extremes  of  temperature,  the  distinctive 
features  of  life  will  cease,  and  animal  bodies  will  in 
time  go  back  into  the  simpler  forms  of  inorganic  matter. 

The  phenomena  of  life,  and  especially  of  human  life, 
reveal  the  presence  in  living  animal  bodies  of  an 
element  invisible  and  intangible  and  altogether  different 
from  the  material  form  in  which  it  dwells.  The 
presence  in  living  bodies  of  this  unseen  element  is 
made  very  conspicuous  by  the  phenomenon  of  death. 
In  some  cases,  e.g.  in  suffocation,  there  is  no  perceptible 
change  in  the  visible  organism.  But  there  has  been  a 
change  in  environment ;  and,  as  a  result,  the  functions 
of  life  have  irrevocably  ceased.  In  a  short  time  the 
distinctive  features  of  life  vanish,  and  the  once  active 
body  returns  to  dust.  Evidently,  in  animals,  and  most 
conspicuously  in  man,  are  two  elements  belonging  to 
altogether  different  realms  of  being,  yet  interpenetrating 
at  every  point,  a  visible  body  akin  to  the  graveyard  sod 
with  which  it  soon  will  mingle,  and  an  invisible  spirit 
within.  The  link  holding  them  together  is  the  life. 
When  this  link  is  broken,  each  element  returns  in  its 
own  direction  :  "  the  dust  will  return  to  the  earth  as 
it  was,  and  the  spirit  will  return  to  God  who  gave  it." 


THE   RUIN  [Part  I 


Of  these  elements,  the  spirit  is  manifestly  the  higher 
and  nobler.  We  cannot  but  think  of  the  body  as 
merely  living  and  of  the  spirit  as  the  source  and 
principle  of  life ;  of  the  body  as  moved  and  of  the 
spirit  as  moving  it.  In  the  human  spirit  chiefly  is 
seen  man's  infinite  superiority  to  anigials.  It  is  the 
seat  of  intelligence,  of  the  moral  sense,  and  of  all  that 
goes  to  make  up  our  conception  of  personality.  We 
have  accustomed  ourselves  to  think  of  man  as  still 
existing  in  happiness  or  woe  even  after  the  body  has 
been  resolved  into  dust  ;  but  we  cannot  conceive  of 
the  man  as  himself  existing  after  the  phenomena  of 
mind  and  spirit  have  finally  ceased. 

We  notice  now  that  the  whole  of  human  life  and 
the  entire  activity  of  the  human  spirit  are  conditioned 
by  the  constitution  of  the  body,  and  in  great  part  by 
that  constitution  which  is  common  to  all  animals.  This 
bodily  constitution  compels  us  to  spend  hours  every 
day  in  sleep,  during  which  the  spirit  is  inactive  and 
unconscious  ;  and  to  spend  time  in  obtaining  food  for 
ourselves  and  for  those  dependent  upon  us.  Frequently, 
as  in  the  case  of  miners  and  fishermen,  these  efforts 
to  obtain  food  involve  hardship  and  peril.  The  peculiar 
structure  of  our  bodies,  making  us  dependent  on  the 
mysterious  laws  of  animal  life  and  on  our  environment 
near  and  remote,  exposes  us  to  anxiety  and  pain,  and 
will  some  day  bring  us  down  into  the  deep  valley  of 
death.  In  short,  the  whole  of  human  life  is  limited, 
and  in  some  measure  shaped,  by  the  constitution  of  our 
body. 


Lect.  II]      MAN  AS   CREATED:   FLESH  AND   SPIRIT  7 

Of  animals,  so  far  as  our  observation  goes,  the  entire 
activity  is  not  only  limited  and  moulded,  but  is 
prompted,  by  the  necessities  and  pleasures  of  bodily 
life.  To  this  source  may  be  traced  all  they  do.  In 
them  the  body  reigns  supreme,  as  the  determining 
principle  of  their  whole  being.  They  live  "  according 
to  flesh."  And,  so  doing,  they  attain  the  highest  well- 
being  possible  to  them.  Their  manifest  destiny  is  to 
live,  feed,  grow,  beget  offspring,  and  die.  And  it  is 
attained   by  obedience  to  the  instincts  of  the  body. 

In  man,  such  a  life  is  at  once  felt  to  be  both  unworthy 
and  degrading.  He  is  capable  of  better  things  ;  and  to 
these  he  must  rise,  or  sink  into  intellectual  and  moral 
ruin.  All  experience  teaches  that,  for  the  well-being  of 
both  body  and  spirit,  the  spirit  must  rule  and  the  body 
obey.  Otherwise,  in  most  cases,  the  body  will  lack  its 
needful  food  and  clothing  and  protection  ;  and  in  all 
cases  the  spirit  will  fall  a  prey  to  moral  evils  worse  than 
death. 

All  education  has  for  its  aim  the  control  of  the 
body  by  the  intelligence  and  the  moral  sense.  And  a 
moral  instinct  which  we  dare  not  contradict  compels  us, 
under  penalty  of  universal  condemnation,  to  educate  our 
children,  i.e.  to  train  them  to  make  the  body  obey  the 
dictates  of  the  spirit  within.  Indisputably  the  spirit  is 
designed  to  rule  and  the  body  to  obey  ;  and  only  thus 
can  man  attain  the  well-being  of  which  he  is  capable. 
The  normal  human  life  is  one  in  which  the  body  is  the 
submissive  organ  for  the  self-manifestation  of  the  unseen 
spirit  within. 


THE  RUIN  [Part  I 


The  above  contrast  and  its  moral  significance  are 
conspicuous  in  the  Bible,  and  especially  in  the  Epistles 
of  Paul.  We  read  frequently  of  the  Jlesh,  the  living 
material  common  to  all  human  bodies  and  common  in 
a  somewhat  different  form  to  animals  ;  of  the  body,  the 
complex  organism  belonging  to  each  living  creature  ; 
and  of  the  various  in  ember's  of  the  body ;  all  these  in 
relation  to  the  moral  life  of  men.  In  contrast  to  them 
we  have  the  soul,  the  seat  of  individual  life,  common 
(in  the  Bible)  to  men  and  animals ;  the  spirit,  which  is 
always,  when  the  two  are  compared,  higher  than  the 
soul,  and  which  man  has  in  common  with  God  ;  also  the 
mind,  the  seat  of  intelligence  and  thought.  As  examples 
of  this  contrast  in  its  moral  significance,  I  may  quote 
Rom.  viii.  4,  "  who  walk,  not  according  to  Jlesh,  but 
according  to  Spirit','"  v.  13,  "if  ye  live  according  to 
flesh  ye  will  die,  but  if  by  the  Spirit  ye  put  to  death 
the  actions  of  the  body  ye  will  live  ; "  ch.  vii.  23,  "  I 
see  another  law  in  the  members  of  my  body  carrying 
on  war  against  the  law  of  my  mind  and  taking  me 
captive  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  members." 
Also  Gal.  v.  16,  17  :  "  Walk  by  the  Spirit  and  ye  will 
not  accomplish  the  desire  of  the  flesh.  For  the  flesh 
desires  against  the  Spirit  and  the  Spirit  against  the 
fleshy 

Whatever  be  the  precise  meaning  and  compass  of  the 
word  flesJL  in  these  and  many  similar  passages,  this  use, 
in  a  moral  significance,  of  a  word  denoting  primarily  the 
peculiar  material  of  which  living  bodies  are  composed 
suggests  or  proves  that  in  the  thought  of  Paul  the  body. 


Lect.  II]       MAN  AS  CREATED:   FLESH  AND  SPIRIT  9 

owing  to  its  peculiar  composition,  exerts  or  tends  to 
exert  an  immoral  influence  over  the  spirit  within. 

Since  human  life  on  earth  is  never  found  apart  from 
flesh,  and  since  the  entire  activity  of  man  is  limited  by 
the  constitution  of  his  body,  the  word  flesh  frequently 
describes  the  entire  man  and  sometimes  the  entire  race. 
So  Acts  ii.  17,  "I  will  pour  out  of  My  Spirit  on  all 
flesh  ; "  Rom.  iii.  20,  "  By  works  of  law  shall  no  flesh  be 
justified  before  Him."  Notice  also  Matt.  xvi.  17  :  "  Flesh 
and  blood  have  not  revealed  it  to  thee,  but  My  Father 
which  is  in  heaven."  This  usage  is  another  witness  to 
the  importance  of  the  material  constitution  of  the  body 
as  a  great  factor  of  human  nature. 

It  is  at  once  evident  that  the  mutual  relation  of  the 
visible  living  form  and  the  invisible  animating  principle 
within,  a  relationship  as  wide  as  human  life  and  found 
also  in  the  lower  forms  of  life  in  proportion  as  these 
approach  the  higher  life  of  man,  pertains  to  human 
nature  as  it  sprang  from  the  Creator's  hands  and  to  the 
original  creative  purpose  of  God.  The  dual  nature  of 
man  is  conspicuous  in  the  account  given  in  Gen.  ii.  7  : 
"  Jehovah  God  formed  man,  dust  from  the  ground,  and 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  a  breath  of  life,  and  man 
became  a  living  soul."  The  complex  and  far-reaching 
relationship  of  these  two  elements  of  human  nature 
underlies  and  conditions  at  every  point  the  moral  and 
spiritual  life  of  man.  It  will  therefore  be  a  suitable 
starting  point  for  further  study  of  human  nature  in  its 
ruin,  its  rescue,  and  its  moral  and  spiritual  development 
in  Christ. 


LECTURE    III 

MAN   UNDER   PROBATION 

WE  have  just  seen  that  in  all  human  life  on  earth 
are  two  distinct  elements,  a  visible  and  material 
body  and  a  conscious  and  active  spirit  ;  and  that  in  this 
last  dwells  the  mysterious  personality  of  man,  which 
distinguishes  him  from  the  lower  animals,  the  ultimate 
source,  as  we  shall  learn  in  Lect  XXIX.,  of  human  action. 
And  we  have  seen  that  each  of  these  elements  is  in 
large  measure  dependent  on  the  other  ;  that  the  well- 
being,  and  the  continuance  in  life,  of  the  body  depend 
very  much  on  the  action  of  the  spirit,  and  that  the  state 
of  consciousness  of  the  spirit,  especially  pleasure  or  pain, 
depends  on  the  body  and  on  certain  forces  operating  in 
it  which  the  spirit  can  only  in  small  part  control. 

This  dependence  of  the  welfare  of  the  body  upon  the 
action  of  the  spirit  and  personality  within  is  in  large 
measure  not  direct  but  indirect.  It  is  determined  by 
certain  inevitable  sequences  older  than  the  individual 
man  and  many  of  them  older  than  the  race.  Each  one 
can,  within  certain  limits,  choose  his  own  action.  But 
its  results  are  determined  by  fixed  laws  from  which  he 
cannot  escape. 


Lect.  Ill]  MAN   UNDER   PROBATION  ii 

Some  of  these  sequences  touch  only  bodily  life. 
They  determine  pleasure  and  pain,  health  and  sickness, 
life  and  death.  We  speak  of  them  as  the  laws  of  nature, 
and  of  some  of  them  as  the  laws  of  bodily  life.  As  thus 
used,  the  word  law  denotes  the  uniform  action  of  natural 
forces,  as  this  action  is  observed  and  written  down  by  men. 

Other  sequences  equally  inevitable  and  beyond  man's 
control,  and  vastly  more  important,  are  observed  in  the 
moral  life  of  men,  e.g.  that  of  sin  and  shame  and  moral 
degradation,  and  that  of  right  doing  and  self-respect 
and  clearer  moral  vision  and  increased  moral  strength. 
These  sequences  differ  from  the  former  class  in  that 
they  give  rise  to,  or  are  indissolubly  connected  with, 
a  conception  unique  in  human  thought,  viz.  man's 
deep  sense  of  moral  obligation.  Through  them  speaks 
to  us,  sometimes  approving,  often  condemning,  a  voice 
of  supreme  authority  from  whose  judgment  there  is 
neither  appeal  nor  escape.  This  voice  is  the  Moral 
Law.  It  is  no  mere  description  of  the  uniform  action 
of  natural  forces,  but  a  prescription,  by  an  authority 
we  cannot  contradict,  of  a  path  in  which  we  are  bound 
to  walk.  This  Moral  Law,  or  Moral  Sense,  claims 
unreserved  allegiance.  Sometimes  in  obedience  to  it 
we  are  bound,  under  penalty  of  self-condemnation  and 
moral  degradation,  to  set  at  nought  material  con- 
sequences and  to  act  in  a  manner  injurious  or  possibly 
destructive  to  the  body.  For  the  Moral  Law  and  the 
moral  sequences  associated  with  it  differ  from  the  laws 
of  the  material  world  in  that  these  last  are  not,  whereas 
the  Moral  Law  is,  a  final  rule  of  human  action. 


12  THE  RUIN  Part  I 

Just  as  the  bodily  well-being  of  men  and  animals 
is  conditioned  by  continuance  in  an  activity  and  an 
environment  marked  out  for  them  by  nature,  so  all 
experience  proves  that  the  highest  well-being  of  man 
is  conditioned  by  obedience  to  the  law  written  within. 
Evidently,  just  as  nature  has  given  water  as  the  environ- 
ment of  fishes,  and  air  as  that  of  birds,  and  has  made 
their  continued  life  conditional  on  their  continuance  in 
this  suitable  environment,  so  there  is  marked  out  for 
man,  in  his  own  Moral  Sense,  a  path  along  which  alone 
he  can  attain  his  highest  well-being. 

The  indisputable  and  absolute  authority  of  the  Moral 
Sense,  so  deeply  inwoven  into  the  thought  and  literature 
of  all  ages  and  nations,  we  have  already  {Through 
Christ  to  God,  Lect.  III.)  traced  to  the  intelligent  Author 
of  the  universe  and  of  man.  If  so,  the  Moral  Law  is 
an  expression  of  His  will  touching  the  action  of  His 
intelligent  creatures.  In  other  words.  He  who  made 
man  marked  out  for  him,  in  the  law  written  on  the 
hearts  of  all  men,  a  path  in  which  He  would  have  him 
go ;  and  made  his  well-being  conditional  on  his  progress 
along  that  path.  And  if  so,  the  Moral  Sense  is  an 
all-important  element,  as  is  the  mutual  dependence  of 
body  and  spirit,  of  man  as  originally  created.  It  is 
a  powerful  influence  from  the  Author  of  our  being 
drawing  us  towards  and  along  the  only  path  in  which 
we  can  attain  our  highest  well-being. 

Other  influences  rooted  in  the  original  constitution  of 
man  and  closely  connected  with  his  environment  draw 
him   sometimes  in  an   opposite  direction.      Not  unfre- 


Lect.  Ill]  MAN   UNDER  PROBATION  13 

quently  the  pressing  needs  of  bodily  life  can  apparently 
be  supplied  only  by  disobedience  to  the  law  written 
within.  Still  more  frequently  forbidden  objects  are 
pleasant  or  apparently  helpful.  Sometimes  the  Moral 
Law  alone  seems  to  stand  between  a  man  and  all 
earthly  good.  At  other  times  the  path  marked  out 
by  the  Moral  Law  leads  to  hardship  or  peril  or  death. 
In  all  these  cases  the  needs  or  pleasures  or  aversions 
of  bodily  life  are  a  powerful  influence  prompting  us  to 
do  that  which  our  Moral  Sense  condemns. 

This  influence  of  the  body  is  far-reaching  in  its  effects. 
For,  the  dependence  of  the  body  on  various  external 
and  visible  objects  needful  or  pleasant  to  it  gives  to 
these  objects  special  value ;  and  prompts  us  to  make 
them  the  chief  aim  of  life.  Such  an  aim  tends  to  mould 
a  man's  entire  action  and  thought.  His  intelligence 
becomes  unconsciously  a  servant  of  his  body ;  and 
his  entire  activity  of  body  and  mind  becomes  a  striving 
for  material  objects  around.  Moreover,  since  these 
objects  are  only  to  a  small  extent  under  his  control 
or  within  his  reach,  man's  felt  dependence  upon  them 
becomes  frequently  a  degrading  bondage  to  things 
infinitely  inferior  to  himself. 

These  mutually  antagonistic  influences  reveal  to  man 
an  element  in  himself,  distinct  from  each  of  them,  viz. 
his  own  inborn  power  of  choice,  the  mysterious  pre- 
rogative of  personality.  A  voice  within  speaks  to  him 
from  above  with  an  authority  he  cannot  question : 
another  voice  within  speaks  to  him  with  the  authority 
pf  those  material  conditions  which  rule  his  bodily  life, 


14  THE  RUIN  [Part 

To  one  or  other  of  these  voices  he  must  submit.  To 
which  of  them  he  will  submit,  rests  with,  himself.  He 
is  thus  the  ultimate  source  of  his  own  actions,  and 
the  sole  arbiter  of  his  own  destiny.  For  upon  his 
choice  depends  his  highest  well-being  or  deepest  moral 
degradation. 

Already  we  have  seen  that  the  Moral  Sense  belongs 
to  man  as  he  sprang  from  the  Creator's  hands.  To  the 
same  source  must  be  traced  the  mysterious  prerogative 
of  personal  choice.  It  is  equally  evident  that  man's 
dependence  on  bodily  life  and  on  his  environment  is 
also  a  part  of  his  original  constitution  as  received  from 
God.  This  is  not  disproved  by  the  immoral  influence 
of  the  body  on  those  who  make  it  the  aim  of  life.  The 
needs  and  desires  of  the  body  injure  us  only  when  they 
usurp  a  place  for  which  they  were  not  designed,  and 
become  the  ruling  principle  in  man.  Kept  in  submission 
to  the  dictates  of  the  Moral  Sense,  of  that  element  in 
man  which  is  designed  to  rule,  they  afford  a  most  valu- 
able moral  discipline,  opening  to  man  a  moral  growth 
and  grandeur  otherwise  impossible.  It  is  true  that 
man's  dependence  on  bodily  life  and  its  environment 
makes  life  to  be  toil  and  conflict.  But,  as  we  proceed, 
we  shall  find  that  God  has  provided  means  by  which  to 
every  man  that  toil  may  have  abundant  recompense,  and 
that  conflict  may  be  a  victory  bringing  with  it  the  spoils 
of  victory. 

The  only  explanation  of  the  facts  of  human  nature 
is  that  He  who  made  man  gave  to  him  a  freedom  of 
personal  choice  and  action  like  His  own  divine  freedom, 


Lect.  Ill]  MAN   UNDER  PROBATION  15 

thus  making  man  the  sole  arbiter  of  his  own  action  and 
destiny  ;  that  He  inwove  into  human  intelligence  an 
authoritative  guide  of  action,  and  put  man  in  a  body 
dependent  on  its  material  surroundings,  thus  compelling 
him  to  choose  whether  to  yield  allegiance  to  that  in  him 
which  he  knows  to  be  most  fit  to  rule  or  to  that  which 
he  knows  to  be  designed  to  obey.  In  other  words,  when 
the  Creator  breathed  into  a  material  body  a  higher  life 
and  thus  made  man,  He  put  him  in  a  state  of  proba- 
tion, exposed  to  contending  infiuences,  in  order  that  by 
right  choice  and  action  man  might  attain  moral  worth. 

So  closely  inwoven  in  human  life,  as  noticed  above,  is 
the  contrast  and  mutual  dependence  of  flesh  and  spirit 
that  we  need  not  wonder  that  this  all-pervasive  relation 
is  the  basis,  or  at  least  the  starting  point,  of  man's 
moral  probation.  And,  inasmuch  as  the  lower  forms 
of  life  lead  up  to  man,  we  may  well  believe  that  the 
bodily  constitution  even  of  these  earlier  and  lower  forms 
was  designed  by  God  to  lead  up  to  the  moral  life  of 
man. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  account  of  the  creation 
of  the  dual  nature  of  man  in  Gen.  ii.  7  is  followed  almost 
immediately  by  a  limitation  set  by  God  to  man's  desire 
for  food.  By  affixing  this  limit,  God  put  man  at  his 
creation  under  moral  probation. 

We  find  then,  from  indisputable  facts  of  human 
nature  to-day,  that  man  as  originally  created  consisted 
of  two  elements,  one  closely  akin  to  his  Creator,  the 
other  akin  to  the  lower  animals  and  like  them  dependent 
on  the  material  world  ;  that  between  these  very  different, 


1 6  THE  RUIN  [Part  I 

and  in  some  measure  hostile,  elements  was  placed  a 
personal  power  of  self-determination  ;  that  each  of  these 
elements  tends,  by  its  nature,  to  control  man's  choice 
and  action  ;  and  that  all  this  was  ordained  by  God  in 
order  to  test  man's  loyalty  to  that  in  him  which  is 
noblest  and  best  and  which  ever  leads  him  up  to  God, 
in  order  that  by  person  J  moral  victor}^  man  may  ever 
rise  towards  God. 


LECTURE    IV 

SIN  AND  BONDAGE 

WE  have  already  seen  {Through  C/in'st  to  God, 
Lect.  X.)  that  the  various  writers  of  the  New 
Testament  assume  frequently  that  all  men  are  guilty  of 
personal  sin.  This  assumption  underlies  everywhere 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.  For  this  last  is  essentially  an 
announcement  of  pardon.  And,  where  no  sin  is,  there 
can  be  no  forgiveness. 

To  prove  the  truth  of  this  assertion,  is  both  needless 
and  useless.  The  literature  of  the  world,  wherever  it 
touches  morals,  is  an  acknowledgment  of  universal  sin. 
But  unless  we  are  immediately  conscious  of  personal  sin, 
neither  the  abundant  testimony  of  moralists  nor  the 
authority  of  Holy  Scripture  will  convince  us.  Christ 
offers  rest  only  to  the  weary  and  heavy  laden.  All 
others  lie  outside  the  scope  of  the  Gospel. 

That  all  men  are  not  only  guilty  of  past  sin  but  are 
in  present  bondage  to  sin,  is  assumed  in  Rom.  vi.  6,  "  in 
order  that  we  be  no  longer  slaves  to  sin  ;  "  in  v.  12,  "  let 
not  sin  reign  as  king  in  your  mortal  body,  in  order  to 
obey  its  desires;"  in  vi'.  17  and  20,  "ye  were  slaves  of 
sin  ; "  in  v.  19,  '*  ye  presented  the  members  of  your  bod}' 


THE  RUIN  [Part  I 


slaves  to  uncleanness."  The  long  contrast,  in  this 
chapter,  of  the  past  and  present  condition  of  the  readers 
implies  throughout  that  formerly  they  were  held  fast 
by  a  power  hostile  to  righteousness  and  compelling  them 
to  pursue  a  path  of  sin.  That  this  bondage  is  recog- 
nised by  law,  or  in  other  words  that  it  is  the  punishment 
prescribed  by  law  for  personal  transgression,  is  taught 
in  Rom.  vii.  1-4,  where  Paul  compares  his  readers  to 
a  woman  formerly  bound  by  law  to  her  husband  but 
now  set  free  by  his  death.  This  comparison  implies,  as 
Paul  teaches  elsewhere,  that  the  Law  of  God  presented 
a  hindrance  to  the  deliverance  of  the  sinner  from  the 
hostile  power  of  sin. 

A  more  full  and  graphic  account  of  this  bondage  is 
given  in  vv.  14-25.  The  writer  finds  himself  unable  to 
do  what  he  desires,  and  compelled  to  do  what  he  hates. 
He  notices  that  what  he  vainly  wishes  to  do  is  good, 
and  that  that  which  he  is  compelled  to  do  is  bad.  P'rom 
this  he  draws  the  terrible  but  inevitable  inference  that 
an  enemy  has  entered,  not  into  his  country  or  his  house, 
but  into  his  own  body,  and  within  the  citadel  of  his  own 
inner  life  is  carrying  on  war  against  him  and  is  leading 
him  helpless  into  captivity.  In  this  awful  sense,  Paul 
declares  that  he  is  "  sold  under  "  the  power  of  "  sin." 

This  picture  of  moral  bondage  is  confirmed  by 
Rom.  i.  24,  26,  28,  where  three  times  we  read  that  the 
heathen  were  given  up  by  God  to  shameful  sin.  For, 
the  conspicuous  repetition  of  the  word  gave-up  suggests 
irresistibly  surrender  to  a  hostile  power  against  which 
their   own    unaided    moral    efforts    were    powerless.     In 


Lect.  IV]  SIN  AND  BONDAGE  19 


Eph  iv.  19  wc  read  that  the  heathen  gave  themselves  up 
to  wantonness. 

The  s.ime  teaching  may  be  traced  to  the  lips  of  Christ 
as  His  words  are  recorded  in  John  viii.  32-36.  To  some 
Jews  who  had  already  put  faith  in  Him^  Christ  an- 
nounced, "  the  truth  shall  make  you  free."  This  they 
resented  as  implying  present  bondage.  But  Christ 
justified  His  promise  of  liberty  by  the  general  and 
solemn  statement,  "  Everyone  that  does  sin  is  a  slave  of 
sin."  This  implies  that  apart  from  the  Gospel  all  men 
are  committing  sin  and  are,  according  to  Christ's  asser- 
tion, slaves  of  sin.  For  unless  all  men  are  sinners  and 
in  bondage,  this  general  assertion  would  not  prove  that 
the  persons  in  question  needed  liberation. 

This  emphatic  teaching  of  Paul  and  of  Christ  is 
confirmed  by  a  wide-spread  experience.  Every  action 
tends  to  form  a  habit  ;  every  sin  to  form  a  habit  of  sin. 
Our  past  life  is  a  present  power  urging  us  along  the 
path  we  have  hitherto  trodden.  In  this  abiding  influence 
of  our  own  past  transgressions  we  trace  the  presence  of 
a  mysterious  and  tremendous  power  of  evil.  To  this 
present  power  of  past  sins,  the  literature  of  all  ages  and 
nations  and  the  annals  of  crime  bear  abundant  testimony. 
Multitudes  have  felt  themselves  to  be  carried  alone  and 
carried  downward  by  immoral  forces  in  themselves 
which  they  were  unable  to  resist.  And  all  have  found  it 
impossible  to  do  right  except  by  strenuous  resistance 
to  a  hostile  force  within. 

This  present  bondage  resulting  from  past  sin  evokes 
in  us  a  dark  apprehension  of  more  terrible   results  to 


THE  RUIN  [Part  I 


follow.  The  loss  of  moral  liberty  reveals  how  far  man 
has  fallen  below  the  moral  dignity  for  which  he  was 
created.  Thus  moral  bondage  is  itself  the  deep  shadow 
of  eternal  death. 

Another  and  very  important  description  of  the  unsaved 
is  given  in  Eph.  ii.  1-3.  The  readers  of  the  Epistle  are 
said  to  have  been  formerly  dead  by  reason  of  their 
trespasses  and  sins.  They  walked  in  a  path  marked 
out  for  them  by  the  course  of  things  around,  by  the 
material  world  and  the  present  age,  directed  by  the 
inward  influence  of  a  spiritual  potentate.  Both  Paul 
and  his  readers  lived  and  moved  among  "  the  sons  of 
disobedience,"  men  whose  moral  nature  was  derived 
from  the  principle  of  disregard  of  God's  commands,  and 
whose  moral  or  rather  immoral  environment  was  deter- 
mined by  the  desires  of  bodily  life.  They  were  working 
out  their  own  desires,  whether  bodily  or  intellectual. 
And  so  doing,  they  were  "  children  of  anger,"  i.e.  men 
on  whom  rests  the  frown  of  God,  being  in  this  respect 
"  like  the  rest  "  of  mankind.  These  last  words  assert 
that  the  account  just  given  describes  the  state  of  all 
men  apart  from  Christ.  And,  that  in  v.  5  Paul  repeats 
the  phrase  in  v.  i  "  dead  by  reason  of  trespasses  "  and 
goes  on  to  speak  of  a  new  life  from  God,  implies  that 
vv.  2,  3  are  an  exposition  of  what  is  involved  in  this 
spiritual  death. 

The  same  phrase  meets  us  again  in  Col.  ii.  13  ;  and  in 
I  Tim.  V.  6,  "  she  that  lives  wantonly  is  dead  while  she 
lives."  The  same  thought,  viz.  that  sin  and  the  con- 
sequent anger  of  God  involve  spiritual  death,  is  found 


Lect.  IV]  SIN  AND  BONDAGE  2i 


in  John  iii.  t,6,  *'  He  that  believes  in  the  Son  has  eternal 
life  :  he  that  disobeys  the  Son  will  not  see  life,  but  the 
anger  of  God  abides  on  Him."  So  ch.  v.  24:  **  has 
eternal  life  and  comes  not  into  judgment,  but  is  passed 
out  of  death  into  life." 

The  metaphor  of  spiritual  life  and  death  underlying 
this  phraseology,  an  element  common  to  the  writings 
of  Paul  and  John,  deserves  careful  attention.  Life  is  the 
normal  condition  of  organic  matter:  of  this  normal 
condition,  death  is  the  absolute  and  final  cessation. 
In  the  moment  of  death,  all  the  functions  of  life  cease, 
the  body  falls  a  helpless  prey  to  corruption  and  returns 
more  or  less  quickly  to  the  simpler  condition  of  inorganic 
matter.  Death  places  a  man  beyond  reach  of  human 
help.  While  there  is  life,  there  is  hope.  Friends  may 
comfort  and  assist  :  a  physician  may  help  recovery. 
But  in  the  presence  of  death  all  human  aid  is  vain. 

These  ideas  we  must  cautiously  transfer  to  the  men 
said  to  be  dead  by  reason  of  their  sins.  This  phrase 
can  only  mean  that  the  unsaved  are  in  the  abnormal 
state  of  a  moral  corpse,  that  they  are  a  helpless  prey 
to  ever-increasing  corruption,  that  from  this  ruin  no 
human  hand  can  save  them,  and  all  this  in  consequence 
of  their  own  sins  and  of  God's  anger  against  sin. 

A  corpse  is  utterly  unconscious  of  things  around. 
And  it  has  often  been  noticed  that  they  who  live  in 
sin  are  to  a  large  extent  indifferent  to  the  vast  realities 
of  the  unseen  world.  But  here  we  must  be  careful  not 
to  press  the  analogy  too  far.  No  metaphor  is  valid  at 
every  point.     A  corpse  can  do  as  little  to  hinder  as  to 


THE  RUIN  [Part  I 


help  its  own  resurrection.  But  the  whole  teaching  of 
the  Bible  implies,  as  we  shall  see  in  PART  IV.,  that 
salvation  is  altogether  conditional  on  the  sinner's  self- 
surrender  to  divine  influences.  Those  dead  by  reason 
of  their  sins  still  have  a  conscious  existence.  Probably 
none  are  altogether  unconscious  of  influences  drawing 
them  towards  that  which  is  right  and  good  :  and  probably 
all  are  more  or  less  benefited  by  them.  All  that  the 
metaphor  fairly  implies  is  that  they  who  have  not  been 
saved  from  their  sins  are  under  the  frown  of  Him 
whose  smile  is  spiritual  life,  and  that  in  consequence 
of  His  anger  they  are  a  prey  to  corruption  from  which 
they  and  their  fellows  are  as  powerless  to  save  them 
as  is  a  corpse  to  save  itself  from  the  inevitable  cor- 
ruption which  dominates  all  the  dead. 

The  powerlessness  of  sinners  to  save  themselves  finds 
clear  expression  in  Rom.  viii.  8  :  "  They  that  are  in 
flesh  cannot  please  God."  This  can  only  mean  that 
they  who  are  controlled  by  the  constitution  of  bodily 
life  cannot  by  any  power  of  their  own  obtain  the 
favour  of  God. 

To  the  above  picture  must  be  added  an  important 
element  derived  from  the  history  of  our  race.  The  law 
written  upon  the  hearts  of  all  men  has  received,  according 
to  the  confident  testimony  of  both  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments, an  all-important  counterpart  and  confirmation  in 
the  Voice  of  God  at  Sinai  as  recorded  and  expounded 
in  the  Jewish  Scriptures.  This  written  Law  dominates 
so  completely  the  entire  thought  of  ancient  Israel,  in 
marked  contrast  to  all   other  ancient  nations,  that   we 


Lect.  IV]  SIN  AND   BONDAGE  23 

cannot  doubt  its  divine  origin.  No  fact  in  the  early 
history  of  the  world  is  better  attested  than  that  through 
Moses  God  gave  to  Israel  definite  moral  commands  and 
a  definite  ritual. 

The  external  law  thus  given  secures  at  once  the 
allegiance  of  our  Moral  Sense,  and  strengthens  its 
authority.  In  many  cases  the  combined  authority  of 
the  outward  and  inward  law  evokes  efforts  to  obey. 
Such  efforts  are  never  more  than  partially  successful. 
And  moral  elevation  derived  from  partial  obedience 
does  but  reveal  the  shortcoming  of  this  obedience.  For 
every  right  act  gives  us  a  clearer  view  of  the  lofty  and 
just  claims  of  the  Moral  Law. 

These  unavailing  efforts  increase  our  consciousness  of 
moral  bondage,  and  thus  deepen  our  self-condemnation 
and  our  fear  of  punishment  to  come.  The  divine 
authority  which  speaks  in  the  Moral  Sense  and  still 
more  clearly  in  the  written  Law  presents  to  us  sin  in 
the  light  of  rebellion  against  God.  Sin  becomes  an 
offence  against  a  definite  Person  far  above  all  other 
personality  who  claims  our  obedience  and  devotion. 
The  thought  of  God,  evoked  in  us  first  by  contemplation 
of  the  material  universe,  then  by  the  inborn  Moral 
Sense,  is  now  strengthened  by  the  manifestation  of  God 
in  the  history  of  our  race.  Unfortunately,  this  mani- 
festation does  but  make  us  more  conscious  of  helpless 
moral  bondage. 

This  condemnation  pronounced  by  the  written  Law 
is  conspicuous  in  the  teaching  of  Paul.  In  Rom.  iii.  19 
he  declares  that  the  Law  speaks  in  order  to  bring  all 


24  THE  RUIN  [Part  I 

the  world  silent  and  guilty  before  the  bir  of  God.  In 
Gal.  iii.  23  he  writes  that  himself  and  his  readers  "were 
kept  in  guard  under  law."  So  2  Cor.  iii.  6  :  "  the  letter 
kills."  In  Col.  ii.  14  we  read  of  "the  handwriting 
against  us  with  the  decrees,  which  was  opposed  to  us.'' 
Evidently,  in  the  ancient  law  given  to  his  nation  the 
Pharisee  read,  in  spite  of  his  outward  morality,  his  own 
condemnation. 

Such  is  man  apart  from  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  as 
depicted  in  the  New  Testament :  eveayone  guilty  of 
personal  transgression,  and  in  consequence  of  it  in 
present  bondage  to  the  hostile  power  of  sin,  under  the 
anger  of  God;  and  in  a  state  of  ruin  from  which  no 
human  hand  can  rescue. 

Only  one  ray  of  hope  remains.  That  God  gave  to 
man  a  law,  reveals  His  interest  in  man.  Now  the  Law 
cannot  save.  For  a  mere  command  speaking  to  man 
from  above  cannot  break  moral  fetters.  Consequently 
the  Law  cannot  give  life  :  Gal.  iii.  21.  Therefore,  as 
a  means  of  salvation,  it  is  a  failure.  But,  if  so,  it  was 
a  foreseen  failure.  For  God,  when  giving  it,  knew  its 
insufficiency  as  a  means  of  salvation.  But  God  cannot 
select  a  means  insufficient  for  the  end  He  has  in  view. 
We  therefore  infer  with  confidence  that  under  apparent 
failure  must  be  a  further  purpose.  Thus  the  Voice 
of  Sinai,  which,  as  we  first  heard  it,  announced  only 
condemnation,  awakens  hope  of  a  salvation  which,  by 
itself,  the  Law  cannot  give. 


LECTURE   V 

THE   FIRST  FALL   AND   ITS  RESULTS 

WE  have  seen  that  the  writers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment assert  or  assume  everywhere  that  all 
men  are  guilty  of  personal  transgression  of  a  law  given, 
in  some  form,  to  all  men  ;  and  assume  that  all  men  are 
under  a  bondage  to  sin  which  compels  them,  unless 
rescued  by  supernatural  power,  to  continue  in  a  course 
of  sin.  We  have  also  noticed,  as  a  conspicuous  element 
of  this  moral  disorder,  the  subjection  of  that  in  man 
which  is  highest  and  noblest  to  the  rule  of  the  lower 
side  of  his  nature. 

The  universality  of  this  moral  disorder  suggests 
irresistibly  an  inborn  fault  in  human  nature.  And  this 
is  confirmed  by  a  universal  experience  that  we  can  do 
right  only  by  strenuous  resistance  to  influences  from 
within  tending  to  lead  us  astray.  The  facts  of  human 
life  thus  reveal  a  derangement,  in  human  nature,  of  the 
moral  order. 

This  inference  is  supported  by  a  few  words  in  Eph. 
ii.  3  at  the  close  of  an  important  description  of  the 
former  condition  of  those  to  whom  Paul  writes  :  "  and 
were  by  nature  children  of  anger  as  also  the  rest."     The 

25 


26  THE   RUIN  [Part 


words  foregoing  assert  that  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  were 
formerly  pursuing  a  path  of  sin  :  "  the  sons  of  dis- 
obedience, among  whom  also  we  all  had  our  manner 
of  life  formerly,  doing  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of 
the  mind."  Paul  then  says,  in  the  words  quoted  above, 
that  this  course  of  action  brought  them  under  the 
"  anger  "  of  God  ;  that  in  pursuing  it  they  were  guided 
"  by  nature,"  z.e.  by  forces  born  in  them,  as  distinguished 
from  influences  which  had  come  to  them  since  birth  ; 
and  that  in  this  they  were  like  other  men.  In  other 
words,  the  nature  common  to  all  men  and  received  at 
birth  contains  in  it  a  tendency  to  sin. 

The  words  "  by  nature  children  of  anger "  do  not 
imply  that  God  is  angry  with  men  because  of  the  moral 
condition  in  w^hich  they  were  born.  The  actual  ground 
of  God's  anger  is  indicated  in  the  words  foregoing  : 
"  doing  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  their  minds." 
The  word  "  by-nature  "  traces  these  actual  sins  to  an 
inborn  moral  fault.  We  have  a  similar  connection  of 
thought  in  Ps.  li.  4,  5  :  "  Against  Thee,  Thee  only,  I 
have  sinned,  and  that  which  is  evil  in  Thine  eyes  I  have 
done.  .  .  .  Behold,  in  iniquity  was  I  brought  forth,  and 
in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me."  The  personal  sin 
here  confessed  was  a  result  of  culpable  surrender  to  evil 
influences  inherited  at  birth.  The  felt  guilt  of  this 
surrender  evoked  the  Psalmist's  cry  for  pardon. 

That  man  was  originally  created  with  these  tendencies 
to  sin,  we  cannot  believe.  That  he  was  created  liable 
to  sin  and  exposed  to  temptation,  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  moral  character  of  the  Creator.     P'or  the  only 


Lect.  V]        THE  FIRST  FALL  AND  ITS   RESULTS  27 

alternative  to  such  liability  to  sin  is  the  suppression  of 
freedom  and  of  all  that  gives  worth  to  human  life.  But 
we  cannot  conceive  a  moral  and  loving  Creator  giving 
to  man  a  positive  bias  to  evil  such  as  is  implied  in 
Eph.  ii.  3  and   Ps.  li.   5. 

That  the  moral  nature  inherited  by  man  at  birth  is 
radically  defective,  is  taught  also  in  John  iii.  5,  6,  where 
our  Lord  supports  His  assertion  that  without  a  new 
birth  none  can  enter  the  Kingdom  of  God  by  adding 
'  that  which  is  born  from  the  flesh  is  flesh."  Evidently 
He  means  that  the  nature  derived  from  human  parents 
is  incapable,  apart  from  the  infusion  of  new  life  from 
above,  of  the  blessedness  which  God  has  prepared  for 
His  people.  Another  confirmation  of  the  same  is  Job 
XV.  14  :  "  What  is  man  that  he  should  be  clean,  and  he 
which  is  born  of  a  woman  that  he  should  be  righteous  ?" 

We  now  ask,  W'hence  came  this  universal  moral  defect 
in  human  nature  ? 

That  human  sin  is  later  than  human  life,  is  implied 
in  Rom.  v.  12,  "through  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 
world,  and  through  sin  death."  For  this  entrance  of 
death  through  one  man  is  further  explained  in  vv.  15, 
17,  ''through  the  one  man's  trespass,  the  many  died." 
So  V.  16,  "through  one  having  sinned;  "  and  v.  19, 
"  through  the  disobedience  of  the  one  man  the  many 
were  constituted  sinners."  These  passages  imply  clearly 
and  conspicuously  that,  until  one  definite  transgression 
of  the  first  man,  the  race  was  sinless. 

The  above  quotations  refer  evidently  to  the  story  of 
the  fall   in  Gen.  iii.,  where  we  finel   man   placed   under  a 


28  THE  RUIN  Part  I 

definite  probation,  exposed  to  a  definite  temptation, 
guilty  of  a  definite  sin,  and  under  a  definite  curse.  The 
whole  narrative  depicts  this  first  sin  as  a  new  and  evil 
era  in  the  history  of  our  race.  Another  reference  to  the 
same  event  is  found  in  i  Tim.  ii.  14,  "  the  woman,  having 
been  deceived,  came  into  transgression." 

That  this  first  sin  of  the  first  man  was  the  source  of 
the  tendency  to  evil  which,  as  is  taught  or  implied  in 
the  passages  quoted  above,  all  men  inherit  by  birth,  I 
shall  now  endeavour  to  prove.  In  so  doing,  I  shall  also 
trace  other  consequences  of  the  same  first  transgression. 

Paul  teaches  in  Rom.  v.  12,  14  that  through  the  first 
sin  "  death  passed  through  to  all  men,"  and  "  reigned  as 
king."  So  vv.  15,  17.  Similarly,  i  Cor.  xv.  21,  22  : 
"through  man  came  death  ...  in  Adam  all  die." 
These  last  words  refer  manifestly  to  the  death  of  the 
body,  which  throughout  the  chapter  is  the  dark  counter- 
foil to  the  resurrection  of  the  body  :  cp.  v.  44,  "  it  is 
sown  an  animal  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body." 
Manifestly  Paul  asserts  that  the  reign  of  death  to-day 
over  all  men  is  a  result  of  Adam's  first  sin.  The  same 
is  implied  in  John  viii.  44,  "  he  was  a  murderer  from  the 
beginning."  It  is  also  taught  in  Wisdom  ii.  23,  *'  God 
created  man  for  immortality  .  .  .  but  by  envy  of  the 
devil  death  entered  into  the  world  ; "  and  in  Sirach 
XXV.  24,  "  because  of  her  we  all  die."  But  neither  in  the 
Old  Testament  nor  elsewhere  in  the  New,  is  the  universal 
reign  of  death  expressly  and  clearly  traced  to  Adam's 
sin. 

In  Gen.  ii.  17,  death  is  represented  as  the  threatened 


Lect.  V]        THE  FIRST  FALL   AND  ITS   RESULTS  29 

penalty  of  sin.  As  matter  of  fact,  all  men  die.  And, 
as  we  have  just  seen,  Paul  teaches  that  their  death  is  a 
result  of  Adam's  sin.  If  so,  the  punishment  threatened 
in  paradise  to  Adam  may  be  said  to  have  been  inflicted 
upon  all  his  children.  In  this  sense,  his  sin  was  imputed 
or  reckoned  to  them  ;  not  that  God  looked  upon  them  as 
though  they  had  committed  a  sin  which  took  place  long 
before  they  were  born,  but  that  He  laid  upon  them  the 
punishment  threatened  to  their  father  in  case  of  dis- 
obedience. This  use  of  the  word  may  be  illustrated  by 
Philemon  18,  where  Paul  asks  his  friend  to  reckon  to  his 
account  any  fraud  committed  by  Onesimus  :  "  I  will 
repay  it." 

To  this  infliction  upon  Adam's  children  of  the  punish- 
ment threatened  to  their  father,  refer  probably  the  con- 
cluding words  of  Rom.  v.  12,  "  inasmuch  as  all  sinned  ;" 
and  V.  19,  "through  the  disobedience  of  the  one  man, 
the  many  were  constituted  sinners."  By  inflicting  on 
all  men  the  penalty  threatened  to  Adam,  God  may  be 
said  to  have  treated  all  men  as  if  sharers  in  their  father's 
sin.  This  cannot  have  been  an  arbitrary  act  of  God. 
We  infer  therefore  that  Adam's  descendants  stood  to 
their  father  in  a  relation  so  close  that  the  punishment  of 
death  threatened  to  him  fell  also  upon  them. 

That,  in  consequence  of  this  close  relation,  other 
effects  of  Adam's  first  transgression  fell  upon  his  children, 
will  soon  appear. 

We  have  already  seen  that  both  Christ,  as  His  words 
are  recorded  in  the  P'ourth  Gospel,  and  Paul  in  his 
Epistles  teach  that  to  commit  sin  is  to  surrender  oneself 


30  THE   RUIN  [Part  I 

a  slave  to  the  power  of  sin  ;  and  that  this  teaching  is 
confirmed  by  the  general  experience  of  mankind.  This 
universal  sequence  of  sin  committed  and  moral  degrada- 
tion following  must  have  determined  the  effect  of  Adam's 
first  sin.  Indeed  all  experience  teaches  that  the  first 
step  in  a  wrong  path  has  consequences  most  serious. 
Frequently  the  entire  subsequent  downward  course  seems 
to  be  an  almost  inevitable  result  of  the  first  wrong  act. 
All  analogy  compels  us  to  believe  that  by  his  first  sin 
Adam  fell  into  bondage  to  sin.  And,  if  so,  since  moral 
sequences  are  linked  together  by  the  m(;ral  Ruler  of  the 
world,  this  moral  bondage  must  have  been  a  divinely- 
ordained  and  inflicted  punishment  of  that  first  dis- 
obedience.    Consequently,  the  punisbment  of  Adam  was 

'  twofold,  viz.  death  bodily  and  spiritual,  surrender  of  his 
body  after  a  few  years  of  toil  to  the  worms,  and  immediate 

.  surrender  of  his  spirit  to  moral  bondage. 

That  the  former  part  of  this  penalty  is  inflicted  on  all 
Adam's  children,  or  in  other  words  that  they  die  because 
he  sinned,  we  have  learned  from  the  clear  teaching  and 
argument  of  Paul.  We  have  ako  observed  that  moral 
bondage,  the  second  part  of  Adam's  punishment,  is  as 
widespread  among  his  children  as  is  the  first  part  of  it, 
viz.  the  doom  of  death.  This  universal  moral  bondage 
we  have  traced,  in  the  pages  of  the  Bfble,  to  a  fault  in 
the  moral  nature  inherited  by  each  man  at  birth  ;  just 
as  the  bodily  death  of  each  may  be  traced  to  the  bodily 
constitution  received  from  his  parents.  This  defective 
moral  nature  of  man  needs  explanation.  Surely  it 
cannot   be   the    immediate   handiwork   of  a  good  and 


Lect.  V]        THE  FIRST  FALL   AND   ITS   RESULTS  31 

righteous  and  aliiiiglity  Creator.  Some  evil  influence 
has  come  in  between  the  original  creation  of  man  and 
the  birth  of  men  as  we  know  them.  What  this  evil 
influence  is,  we  cannot  doubt. 

If,  as  we  have  learnt  from  Paul  and  others,  their 
mortality  is  due  to  Adam's  sin,  to  the  same  source 
must  be  traced  this  universal  moral  defect.  If  the  first 
part  of  the  penalty  of  Adam's  sin  has  been  inflicted 
on  his  children,  so  has  the  second.  In  other  words, 
we  infer  with  confidence  that  by  his  first  sin  our  father 
sold  himself  into  bondage  to  sin  and  death  :  and  that 
his  children  inherit  that  bondage.  "  In  Adam  all  die  : " 
and  we  "  were  by  nature  children  of  wrath,  even  as 
the  rest." 

The  above  inference  is  supported  by  our  observation 
that  bodily  defects,  leading  often  to  an  early  death, 
and  tendencies  to  sin,  leading  often  to  immoral  lives, 
may  not  unfrequently  be  traced  from  father  to  son. 
This  inheritance  of  moral  qualities,  themselves  formed 
by  moral  actions,  must  be  by  the  ordinance  of  Him 
who  has  linked  together,  in  infinite  wisdom,  moral 
sequences.  If  so,  the  inheritance,  by  all  men,  of  the 
bodily  and  spiritual  consequences  of  Adam's  sin  is  but 
the  earliest  and  greatest  and  furthest-reaching  example 
of  a  principle  apparently  co-extensive  with  human  life, 
and  perhaps  with  all  life. 

The    doctrine,  just  expounded,  that   in   consequence 

of   Adam's  sin  all  men   are    born   with  a   tendency  to 

evil   and  with    bodies    doomed   to  die  has,  it   must  be 

admitted,  at  first  sight  an  appearance  of  injustice.     If 
4 


32  THE   RUIN  [Part  I 

it  were  the  whole  case,  it  could  not,  I  think,  be  har- 
monised with  the  character  of  God.  But  it  is  not  the 
whole  case.  In  the  two  chief  passages  in  which  it  is 
taught  in  the  Bible,  Rom.  v.  12-19  and  i  Cor.  xv.  21,  22, 
the  doctrine  that  through  Adam's  sin  all  men  die  is 
used  mainly  as  a  dark  counterpart  to  the  great  doctrine 
that  through  the  obedience  of  Christ  they  who  accept 
the  salvation  offered  to  all  men  will  reign  in  life  eternal. 
Thus  will  be  reversed  in  them  not  only  the  inherited 
result  of  Adam's  sin  but  the  result  of  their  own  many 
transgressions.  Our  relation  to  Adam  is  involved 
in  the  solidarity  of  the  race.  This  solidarity  involves 
temporary  hardship  to  individuals.  But  it  is  a  gain  to 
the  race  as  a  whole,  and  to  everyone  individually  who 
accepts  the  free  gift  offered  to  all  men  in  Christ. 

Just  as  Paul  teaches  in  Rom.  iii.  25  that  under  the 
Old  Covenant  God  acted  in  His  forbearance  towards 
sin  in  a  way  which,  apart  from  the  coming  death  of 
Christ,  justice  would  not  have  permitted,  so,  as  we 
may  infer  from  ch.  v.  12-19,  He  acted,  in  the  infliction 
of  the  penalty  of  Adam's  sin  on  all  his  children,  on 
principles  harmonised  with  justice  only  by  the  pre- 
determined gift  of  His  Son  to  bear  the  death  penalty 
of  Adam  and   His  children.  , 

Notice  carefully  that  neither  the  inferences  noted 
above  nor  the  story  of  the  creation  and  fall  of  man  in 
Gen.  ii.  and  iii.  imply  or  suggest  a  long  period  of 
innocence.  The  first  recorded  moral  act  of  man  was 
transgression.  Earlier  than  this  we  have  only  the 
intellectual  discrimination  mvolved  in  the  names  given 


Lect.  V]        THE   FIRST  FALL   AND  ITS  RESULTS  33 

to   animals,  a  valuable  indication   that  intelligence  was 
earlier  than  sin. 

Nor  are  these  inferences  weakened  by  any  geological 
evidence  that  the  earliest  men  were  on  a  low  level  of 
civilisation.  For  immature  civilisation  by  no  means 
implies  moral  corruption.  About  this,  geological  remains 
have  nothing  to  say.  Indeed  they  scarcely  prove  that 
the  earliest  men  were  savages.  They  rather  point  to 
progress,  slow  but  sure  ;  which  is  unknown  among 
savage  races.  So  far  as  I  know,  such  races  have 
not  even  traditions  of  progress  like  those  recorded  in 
Gen.  iv.  20-22.  Nor  have  we  an  example  of  a  savage 
tribe  raising  itself,  unaided,  into  civilisation.  Of  such 
tribes,  a  universal  feature  is  helpless  stagnation. 

A  more  serious  difficulty  is  the  geological  evidence 
that  anim.als  died  long  before  man  existed  on  earth. 
The  force  of  this  evidence  cannot  be  resisted.  Nor  can 
we  deny  the  close  relation  between  the  death  of  animals 
and  that  of  man.  We  now  ask.  How  does  this  evidence 
bear  on  the  teaching  of  Paul  that  all  men  die  because 
Adam  sinned  ? 

We  have  already  {Through  Christ  to  God,  p.  349) 
seen  that  the  intelligence  and  moral  sense  of  man 
cannot  be  accounted  for  by  any  of  the  forces  known 
to  be  at  work  in  the  lower  animals ;  *  and  therefore 
reveal  in  man  the  inbreathing  of  a  higher  life  from  a 
supernatural  Source.  Evidently,  this  higher  life  was 
dcsicjncd    to    rule   the    lower   and    animal    life    in    man. 

o 

*  This  is  well  argued,  by  an  eminent  naturalist,  in  Wallace's 
Darwinism,  pp.  461-74. 


34  THE   RUIN  [Fart  1 

Indeed  the  welfare  of  man  as  a  whole  was  made  con- 
ditional on  the  submission  of  the  lower  to  the  higher 
side  of  his  nature.  Need  we  wonder  that  also  the  con- 
tinuance of  human  life  in  the  form  originally  given  was 
made  subject  to  the  same  condition  ?  Certainly  He 
who  at  first  breathed  the  higher  life  of  man  into  a 
bodily  form  closely  related  to  that  of  animals,  thus 
raising  him  infinitely  above  them,  could  have  maintained 
in  man  this  higher  life  even  in  spite  of  death  reigning 
over  all  the  lower  animals. 

If  this  suggestion  be  correct,  man  was  created  neither 
mortal  nor  immortal,  but  living  ;  his  continued  life  being 
contingent  on  his  own  action,  just  as  his  own  highest 
welfare,  and  to  some  extent  his  continued  bodily  life, 
are  contingent  now.  Two  elements  in  man  claimed 
dominion  over  him  ;  his  moral  sense,  speaking  to  him 
through  his  intelligence  with  the  authority  of  God,  and 
the  needs  and  desires  of  a  bodily  life  akin  to  that  of 
animals.  Had  he  obeyed  the  voice  divine,  obedience 
would  have  raised  him  above  the  doom  of  death,  to  which 
are  subject  the  animals  around.  But  he  yielded  to  the 
allurements  of  that  in  him  which  is  akin  to  animals, 
and  thus  fell  under  the  doom  under  which  lies  all 
animal  life.  If  this  be  so,.  Adam's  death  was  a  result 
of  his  own  sin  :  for  had  he  not  sinned,  he  would  not 
have  died.  And  the  wide  prevalence  of  heredity  in 
human  life  makes  it  easy  to  believe  that  his  mortality 
was  inherited  by  his  descendants.  If  so,  the  universality 
of  death  to-day  is,  as  Paul  teaches,  a  result  of  Adam's 
sin. 


Lect.  V]       THE  FIRST  FALL  AND  ITS  RESULTS  35 

The  above  suggestion  seems  to  me  to  account  fairly 
for  all  the  known  facts  o{  the  case. 

Against  this  suggestion,  unsupported  though  it  is  by 
scientific  evidence,  Natural  Science  has  nothing  to  say. 
For  the  origin  of  reason  and  of  the  moral  sense  lies 
at  present  altogether  beyond  its  ken,  in  the  realm  of 
the  unexplored  supernatural.  And,  if  so,  it  can  say 
nothing  about  the  conditions  on  which  they  were  given. 
Certainly,  in  its  ignorance  of  the  supernatural,  Natural 
Science  has  no  right  to  contradict  the  teaching  of  the 
great  Apostle  who  was  a  chief  actor  in  a  spiritual 
revolution  which  has  regenerated  the  world. 

So  closely  related  on  its  lower  side  is  human  life  to 
the  life  of  animals  that  possibly,  had  man  been  faithful 
to  his  higher  nature,  his  victory  would  have  eventually 
rescued  even  the  animal  world  from  the  doom  of  death. 
It  may  be  that  these  are  included  in  "the  whole  creation" 
which,  as  Paul  teaches  in  Rom.  viii.  19-23,  is  waiting  to 
share  the  coming  deliverance  of  the  children  of  God 
from  their  present  bondage  under  the  conditions  of 
bodily  life. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  geological  objection,  noted 
above,  to  the  teaching  of  Paul  about  the  origin  of  human 
death  bears  only  indirectly  and  slightly  upon  our  own 
important  inference  from  various  teaching  in  the  Bible 
and  from  wide-spread  facts  of  human  nature  that  the 
universal  moral  weakness  and  bondage  of  man  are  due 
to  Adam's  sin. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  evidence  adduced  in 
this  lecture  is  much  less  direct  and  abundant  than  that 


36  THE   RUIN  [Part  I 

adduced  in  my  last  volume  for  the  great  fundamental 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  According  to  our  need,  we 
have  received.  The  good  news  of  salvation  announced 
by  Christ  seems  to  contradict  the  condemnation  pro- 
nounced, by  an  Authority  we  cannot  gainsay,  against  all 
sin  and  all  sinners.  We  therefore  could  not  accept  it 
if  it  were  not  supported  by  an  authority  equal  to  that 
which  condemns  us.  And  we  found  evidence,  abundant 
and  various  and  decisive,  which  left  no  room  for  doubt 
that  the  word  of  pardon  is  the  voice  of  the  Creator  of 
man  and  of  the  universe.  But,  to  every  one  who  is 
loyal  to  that  in  him  which  he  knows  to  be  the  law  of 
his  being,  the  universality  of  sin  and  of  moral  bondage 
is  known  by  direct  experience.  It  therefore  needs  no 
confirmation.  It  is,  nevertheless,  confirmed  by  express 
and  conspicuous  teaching  of  Paul  and  of  Christ  ;  and 
in  less  definite  form  it  underlies  the  entire  Bible.  And 
this  testimony  is  supported  by  that  of  the  literature  of 
all  nations  and  ages.  That  this  universal  moral  ruin 
is  due  to  the  first  sin  of  the  first  man,  is  of  less  importance 
to  the  moral  and  spiritual  life  of  men  living  to-day. 
But  it  is  of  great  interest  to  those  who  endeavour  to 
study  as  a  whole  the  moral  government  of  God.  And 
it  is  supported  by  evidence  which  seems  to  mc,  when 
fairly  weighed  in  its  various  parts,  sufficient  to  banish 
all  doubt 


LECTURE    VI 

MAN  UNSAVED 

THE  foregoing  results,  we  shall  now  sum  up,  and 
weave  together  into  a  picture  of  man  apart  from 
the  salvation  announced  by  Christ. 

Into  a  bodily  form  closely  allied  with,  though  con- 
spicuously superior  to,  all  earlier  living  bodies,  God 
breathed  an  intelligence  and  a  capacity  for  intellectual 
growth  surpassing  infinitely  that  of  animals.  This 
intelligence  He  endowed  with  a  moral  sense  which  man 
is  compelled  to  recognise  as  the  supreme  law  of  his 
being.  Each  of  these  elements  of  his  nature  claims 
to  be  the  sole  guide  of  his  action.  Apd  these  contra- 
dictory claims  reveal  in  man  two  widely  different  and 
mutually  antagonistic  influences,  viz.  the  needs  and 
desires  of  the  body  claiming  loudly  to  be  supplied  and 
gratified,  and  the  moral  sense  claiming,  with  an  authority 
which  the  intelligence  of  man  is  compelled  to  recognise 
as  supreme,  to  control  and  direct  his  entire  activity. 
These  contending  influences  make  human  life  a  conflict  ; 
and  make  it  also  a  test  of  man's  loyalty  to  that  in  him 
which  he  knows  to  be  most  worthy  to  rule.  Between 
these    contending  influences  he  is  compelled  to  choose 


38  THE   R17/:V  [Part  I 


day  by  day  and  hour  by  hour.  An  J  each  choice  reveals 
and  moulds  his  character.  Thus  is  human  life  on  earth, 
in  consequence  of  the  constitution  of  human  nature,  a 
moral  probation. 

The  first  recorded  moral  act  of  the  first  man  wa-^  self- 
surrender  to  a  bodily  ap;)etite  and  disobedience  to  an 
express  command  of  God.  Man  thus  fell  under  the 
condemnation  of  God  and  under  the  doom  of  death,  the 
threatened  penalty  of  disobedience.  Another  element 
of  the  same  penalty  was  moral  bondage.  By  the  first 
act  of  disobedience  Adam  must  have  lost  his  moral 
balance ;  and  the  balance  thus  lost  he  was  unable  to 
regain.  In  this  way  man  fell  helplessly  and  hopelessly 
under  the  dominion  of  the  lower  side  of  his  nature  ; 
and  became  utterly  unable  to  win  back  the  favour  of 
God. 

Inasmuch  as  all  life  known  to  us  to-day  is  inherited 
from  earlier  hfe,  the  derived  life  inherititig  in  many 
cases  even  acquired  characteristics,  we  are  not  surprised 
to  find  that  the  sin  of  the  first  man  and  its  moral  and 
bodily  consequences  to  himself  influenced  greatly  his 
descendants.  We  have  learnt  from  Paul  and  others 
that  the  doom  of  death  pronounced  on  Adam  has  passed 
down  to  all  men.  And  from  this  inherited  penalty  we 
have  inferred  with  confidence  that  the  universal  moral 
bondage  of  men,  which  cannot  have  been  a  part  of  the 
original  purpose  of  creation,  must  also  be  a  result  of 
the  same  first  transgression.  If  so,  the  mortality,  and 
the  tendency  to  evil  present  in  all  men  to-day,  are  an 
extension  or  multiplication,  handed    down    from  father 


Lect.  VI]  MAN   UNSAVED  39 

to  son,  of  that  first  mortality  and  mora!  bondage  under 
which  Adam  fell. 

We  may  therefore  describe  the  state  of  man,  apart 
from  the  salvation  announced  by  Christ,  as  one  of 
utter  moral  inability  so  to  obey  God  as  by  obedience  to 
obtain  His  favour,  so  to  realise  his  own  moral  ideal  as 
to  find  in  that  realisation  moral  rest. 

This  teaching  of  the  Bible  is  in  complete  harmony 
with  the  facts  of  human  nature  as  we  see  them  around 
us  to-day  and  read  them  in  history,  and  with  the 
testimony  of  the  moral  sense  of  man  as  it  speaks  in 
the  literature  of  the  world  and  in  the  heart  of  man. 
We  all  know  by  direct  experience  that  we  can  do  right 
only  by  strenuous  resistance  to  hostile  influences,  and 
that  apart  from  supernatural  help  our  own  resistance  is 
vain.  The  annals  of  crime  contain  abundant  evidence 
that  sinners  are  victims  of  their  own  sins. 

The  above  teaching  does  not  imply  that  in  those  who 
have  never  heard  the  Gospel,  or  even  in  those  who  have 
rejected  it,  there  is  nothing  good.  For  abundant  evidence 
attests  that  the  moral  sense  remains,  distorted  and 
weakened  but  not  silent,  in  very  many,  probably  in  all, 
who  daily  break  the  moral  law.  In  the  terrible  picture 
of  his  former  state  given  in  Rom.  vii.  14-25  (see  my 
Coinine7itary)  Paul  declares  that  he  agrees  with  the  Law 
that  it  is  good,  that  he  desires  to  do  the  good  and  hates 
the  sin  which  he  commits,  but  that  he  is  led  captive  by 
an  irresistible  power  within.  Similar  testimony  has 
been  given  in  all  ages.  The  moral  sense,  however,  good 
as  it  is,  is  nevertheless  unable  to  rescue  man  from  the 


40  THE  RUIN  [Part  I 

power  of  sin.  It  does  but  reveal  his  bondage,  and 
extort  a  cry  for  deliverance. 

The  actual  condition  of  man  apart  from  the  direct 
influence  of  the  Gospel  is  also  affected  by  another 
element  as  wide  as  the  race.  In  Rom.  ii.  4  Paul  blames 
a  man,  whom  he  describes  as  hard-hearted  and  im- 
penitent and  as  treasuring  up  for  himself  anger  in  a 
day  of  anger,  for  not  knowing  that  God  is  leading 
him  to  repentance.  This  implies  that  on  all  men 
God  is  exerting  this  influence.  For,  if  there  were  any 
exceptions,  the  man  in  question  might  be  one.  In 
the  case  supposed  by  Paul,  this  good  influence  was 
manifestly  unavailing.  But  it  left  the  man  without 
excuse.  Our  Lord  teaches  in  John  vi.  44,  65  that 
apart  from  such  divine  influences  none  can  come  to 
Him. 

Doubtless  the  inborn  moral  sense  is  a  chief  instru- 
ment by  which  God  draws  men  towards  repentance  and 
Christ.  If  so,  the  moral  sense  of  man  is  an  essential 
part  of  God's  purpose  of  salvation  in  Christ.  In  other 
words,  the  Fall  left  in  man,  by  the  mercy  of  God, 
injured  but  not  destroyed,  an  element  of  which  God 
thought  fit  to  make  use  for  his  restoration.  It  is  a 
source  in  all  men  of  divine  influences  leading  towards 
salvation.  And,  although  some  men  seem  to  trample 
under  foot  these  influences,  we  may  yet  hope  that  in 
none  they  are  altogether  without  good  moral  result, 
and  that  in  many  who  do  not  fully  yield  to  them  they 
are  yet  an  upward  moral  force  raising  more  or  less 
the  moral  life.     To  this  source  we  may  attribute  much 


Lfct.  VIJ  man    UXSAVED  41 

in  the  ancient  heathen  world  which  evokes  bur  sincere 
admiration. 

This  element  of  moral  good  in  the  heathen  is  referred 
to  in  Rom.  ii.  14,  "whenever  Gentiles,  the  men  who 
have  no  law,  do  by  nature  {(f>vaet  as  in  Eph.  ii.  3)  the 
things  of  the  Law ; "  and  in  Rom.  ii.  26,  27,  "  if  the 
Uncircumcision  keep  the  decrees  of  the  Law,  shall  not 
his  uncircumcision  be  reckoned  for  circumcision?  and 
the  Uncircumcision  which  is  from  nature  (eV  (f)va€co<i), 
fulfilling  the  Law,  shall  judge  thee  who  with  letter 
and  circumc'sion  art  a  transgressor  of  law."  Here  we 
have  a  condition  derived  "  from  nature,"  i.e.  inherited 
by  birth,  and  men  who  "by  nature,"  z.e.  guided  only 
by  forces  born  in  them,  do  the  things  prescribed 
in  the  Law.  The  language  used  here  suggests  or 
implies  not  only  possible  but  actual  cases.  But  we 
need  not  assume  that  this  obedience  is  more  than 
fragmentary,  or  that  it  was  sufficient  to  win  the  favour 
of  God.  For  it  must  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of 
Rom.  viii.  8,  "  they  that  are  in  flesh  cannot  please  God." 
It  is,  however,  sufficient  to  condemn  a  disobedient  and 
impenitent  Jew.  As  we  have  already  seen,  the  ''nature" 
inherited  by  each  man  at  birth  includes  the  moral  sense, 
which  God  uses  as  an  instrument  to  draw  all  men  to 
repentance  for  the  sins  of  which  all  are  guilty.  In  this 
sense  some  who  are  "  by  nature  children  of  anger,"  ?>. 
who  guided  by  the  lower  element  received  at  birth  do 
actions  which  bring  them  under  the  anger  of  God,  are 
here  said  to  do  "  by  nature,"  i.e.  guided  by  their  inborn 
moral  sense,  some  things  which  the  Law  prescribes. 


42  THE  RUIN  [Part  I 

Of  these  two  elements  in  the  "nature"  of  man,  if  the 
lower  were  controlled  by  the  higher,  as  was  manifestly 
the  Creator's  purpose,  all  would  be  well.  But  the  clear 
teaching  of  the  New  Testament  that  all  men  are  or 
have  been  slaves  of  sin  implies  that,  apart  from  a  special 
deliverance  wrought  by  God,  the  higher  is  held  down 
by  the  lower.  In  other  words,  there  has  been  a  moral 
displacement  which  even  the  moral  influences  born  in 
man  cannot  restore.  The  Moral  Sense  is  at  first  only 
a  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness.  But  it  is  the  voice  of 
God,  and  a  herald  of  divine  deliverance. 

Where  the  Gospel  is  preached,  and  in  proportion  as 
it  is  preached  fully,  the  inborn  moral  sense  leads  men 
towards  Christ.  For,  as  an  authoritative  moral  standard, 
it  reveals  to  them  their  sin,  and  by  prompting  efforts 
after  amendment  makes  them  conscious  of  their  moral 
helplessness  and  of  their  need  of  a  Saviour.  Thus,  like 
the  Law  of  Moses,  the  Law  written  within  is  a  guardian- 
slave  leading  to  Christ. 

Inasmuch  as  this  divine  influence  is  an  essential  Unk 
in  the  chain  of  salvation  wrought  out  for  us  in  Christ, 
it  is  a  result  of  the  death  of  Christ  upon  the  cross.  For 
through  His  death  was  removed  (^Through  Christ  to  God, 
Lect.  XVIII.)  a  barrier  to  salvation  having  its  root  in 
the  justice  of  God.  Its  universality,  inferred  above 
from  Rom.  ii.  4,  therefore  confirms  abundant  teaching 
in  the  New  Testament  that  Christ  died  for  all  men. 

The  above  double  picture  of  man,  as  fallen  yet  not 
without  a  witness  for  God  even  in  his  fallen  nature, 
embraces  all  the  known  facts  of  the  case.     The  terrible 


Lect.  VI]  MAN   UNSAl/ED  43 

prevalence  of  sin,  and  a  wide  experience  that  men  can 
do  right  only  by  personal  victory  over  a  deeply  im- 
planted tendency  to  evil,  are  explained  by  the  teaching 
that  all  men  inherit  a  nature  prone  to  sin.  And  this 
evil  inheritance  is  in  part  harmonised  with  the  goodness 
and  power  of  the  Creator  by  being  shewn  to  be  a  result 
of  Adam's  sin  ;  and,  as  we  shall  see,  by  the  teaching 
that  in  Christ  we  are  made  sharers  of  a  new  life  of 
victory  over  sin.  On  the  other  hand,  all  moral  excel- 
lence in  man,  even  in  those  men  not  directly  and 
consciously  saved  by  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  is  explained 
by  the  inborn  moral  sense  and  by  divine  influences 
leading  men  back  towards  the  path  marked  out  for 
them   by  God. 

The  above  results  indicate  clearly  the  salvation  needed 
by  man.  He  needs  first  pardon  for  past  sins  and 
restoration  to  the  favour  of  God  forfeited  by  these  sins. 
But,  since  God  smiles  only  on  those  who  obey  His 
commands,  which  the  unsaved  are  unable  to  do,  we 
need  also  deliverance  from  moral  bondage,  from  the 
mighty  hostile  powers  leading  us  astray.  And,  inas- 
much as  bodily  death  is  a  result  of  Adam's  sin,  this 
rescue  will  not  be  absolutely  complete  till  the  body 
laid  dead  in  the  grave  is  raised  to  life  in  the  presence 
of  God.  This  full  salvation  is  the  object  of  our  further 
research. 

In  a  practical  work  like  the  present,  it  is  needless  to 
discuss  the  nature  and  the  origin  of  SiN.  Indeed  it  may 
be  questioned   whether   in    a    phenomenon  so  abnormal 


44  THE   RUIN  [Part  I 

and  unnatural  as  sin  there  is  anything  which  can  be 
called  its  nature.  At  the  same  time  there  are  in  con- 
nection with  sin  associations  and  sequences  which  are 
worthy  of  careful  research.  But  such  research  is  beyond 
the  scope  of  this  volume. 

The  idea  conveyed  by  the  word  sin,  in  the  Bible  and 
in  modern  thought,  is  sufficiently  definite  for  our  pur- 
pose. All  human  literature  and  thought  bear  witness 
that  around  human  action  certain  limits  are  drawn,  not 
by  a  mechanical  necessity,  but  by  an  obligation  which 
every  one  is  compelled  to  recognise  as  the  supreme  law 
of  his  being.  To  cross  those  limits  in  action,  is  actual 
sin  ;  and  is  at  once  followed  by  the  inward  phenomenon 
of  guilt.  To  purpose,  or  even  to  desire,  to  cross  those 
limits  in  any  direction,  is  sinful  thought  and  purpose  ; 
producing,  even  if  it  do  not  pass  into  action,  a  felt 
inward  defilement. 

In  many  cases,  possibly  in  all  cases  indirectly,  the 
transgression  of  these  limits  may  be  traced  to  the  needs, 
desires,  and  aversions  of  the  bodily  life  claiming  to  be 
supplied  and  gratified  ;  i.e.  to  man's  free  self-surrender 
to  that  lower  side  of  his  nature  which  is  akin  to  animals, 
in  spite  of  the  prohibition  of  that  nobler  element  of  his 
nature  which  he  knows  to  be  worthiest  to  rule  and 
which  is  akin  to  One  higher  than  man.  It  is  a  revolt 
of  that  in  man  which  is  manifestly  designed  to  obey 
against  that  which  is  manifestly  designed  to  rule. 

The  moral  sense  of  man  ever  points  to  a  superhuman 
Source,  to  an  intelligent  and  righteous  Creator  and  Ruler 
of  man   and   of  the   universe,  who    through    the   moral 


LixT.  VI]  MAN   UNSAVED  45 

sense  claims  to  direct  and  control  the  entire  activity 
of  man.  We  shall  learn  that  this  supreme  Ruler 
claims,  in  Christ,  the  unreserved  devotion  of  His  intelli- 
gent creatures.  Sin  is  the  rejection  of  this  rule  and 
claim. 

The  origin  of  sin  lies  hidden  in  the  mystery  of  created 
personality.  The  Creator  gave  to  man  a  capacity  to 
select  his  own  line  of  action,  to  initiate  actions  for  which 
ultimately  he  is  alone  responsible.  About  this  freedom 
of  the  will,  more  will  be  said  in  Lect.  XXIX.  Sin  is  an 
abuse  of  this  great  gift :  and  all  such  abuse  is  sin. 

For  our  further  research,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  note 
that  the  Bible  frequently  asserts  or  assumes  that  all  men 
have,  as  the  heart  of  each  one  testifies,  transgressed 
limits  marked  out  by  an  authority  which  none  can 
question  ;  that  this  transgression  has  overthrown  man's 
moral  balance,  and  has  left  him,  with  whatever  in  him  is 
highest  and  best,  a  helpless  captive  held  down  by  that 
lower  element  which  his  higher  nature  was  designed  to 
rule.     From  this  bondage,  we  now  seek  deliverance. 


PART    II 

THE  RESTORATION 


LECTURE    VII 

REPENTANCE,   FAITH,  JUSTIFICATION 

THE  rescue  of  man  from  the  various  consequences 
of  his  past  sins,  we  shall  in  PART  IV.  trace  to  an 
eternal  purpose  of  God  to  save  man  whom  He  foresaw  in 
sin  and  ruin,  and  to  the  eternal  love  of  which  that 
purpose  is  an  eternal  outflow.  The  working  out  of  this 
purpose  may  be  traced  in  the  call  of  Abraham,  in  God's 
covenant  with  him  and  with  his  descendants,  in  the 
giving  of  the  Law  through  Moses,  in  God's  dealings 
with  the  Sacred  Nation  throughout  its  chequered  history; 
and  still  more  conspicuously  in  the  birth  and  teaching 
and  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  in  the  founding 
and  protection  and  growth  of  the  Church.  This  accom- 
plishment of  the  purpose  of  salvation  reaches  each 
individual,  as  we  have  seen  on  p.  40,  in  divine  influ- 
ences leading,  or  tending  to  lead,  him  to  repentance. 
Through  the  moral  law  written  on  the  hearts  of  all  men, 


Lect.  VII]       REPENTANCE,   FAITH,  JUSTIFICATION  47 

God  exerts  an  influence  prompting  them  to  walk  along 
the  path  thus  marked  out.  In  the  Jew,  this  influence 
would  prompt  to  obey,  not  only  the  moral  law,  but  the 
various  special  commands  given  by  God  to  Israel.  In 
those  who  have  heard  the  Gospel  and  have  accepted  the 
unique  claims  of  Christ,  these  influences  prompt  obedi- 
ence to  Him  and  devotion  to  the  great  purpose  for 
which  the  Eternal  Son  assumed  human  form.  We  have 
thus  man  held  fast  by  sin,  but  an  object  of  influences 
which,  if  yielded  to,  will  make  him  free. 

The  actual  salvation  of  each  one  begins  when  he 
surrenders  himself  to  these  divine  influences  ;  and  pro- 
gresses in  proportion  to  the  constancy  and  completeness 
of  this  surrender,  i.e.  in  proportion  as  he  embraces  and 
makes  his  own  God's  purpose  that  men  forsake  sin  and 
serve  Christ.  This  change  of  purpose  (see  Through 
Christ  to  God,  Tect.  XIV.)  is  REPENTANCE.  It  is 
prompted  by  dissatisfaction  with  the  former  life  of  sin, 
or  in  other  words  by  sorrow  for  sin  ;  and  prompts  an 
earnest  effort  to  walk  in  future  along  the  path  marked 
out  by  the  Moral  Sense. 

To  man  thus  repentant,  Christ  announces  pardon  for 
all  past  sin  ;  or  rather  announces  pardon  for  all  who 
believe  His  words.  And,  as  we  saw  in  the  lecture  just 
quoted,  none  can  believe  this  promise  of  pardon  except 
those  who  are  resolved  to  abandon  all  sin.  This  gracious 
promise,  supported  as  it  is  by  the  infinite  love  of  God 
manifested  in  the  death  of  Christ  for  man's  sin  and  by 
the  power  manifested  in  His  resurrection  from  the 
dead,    the   repentant   sinner   ventures   to    believe.       He 


48  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

thus  enters  the  number  of  those  whom  God  accepts 
as  righteous.  And  the  Gospel  promise  of  forgiveness 
for  all  who  believe  assures  him,  conscious  of  his  own 
faith,  that  he  is  himself  forgiven.  Thus  in  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  speaking  to  Him  from  His  cross  and  from 
His  empty  grave,  and  received  by  faith,  the  penitent 
sinner  obtains,  and  becomes  conscious  of,  his  own  for- 
giveness.    By  FAITH  he  is  JUSTIFIED. 

Forgiveness,  however,  does  not  remove  all  the  con- 
sequences of  past  sin.  The  drunkard's  repentance  does 
not  restore  the  health  and  fortune  squandered  by  intem- 
perance. Nor  does  it  destroy  the  passion  for  drink 
which  has  so  often  led  him  astray.  It  has  brought  him 
into  the  favour  of  God.  But,  unless  in  the  future  he 
conquers  the  sins  which  hitherto  have  held  him  in 
bondage,  he  cannot  retain  the  favour  so  graciously 
given. 

The  sinner  has,  nevertheless,  gained  much  :  and  what 
he  has  gained  is  a  sure  pledge  that  all  else  needed  will 
follow.  In  former  times,  he  was  at  war  with  God  ;  and 
had  to  reckon  with  Him  as,  in  a  real  and  terrible  sense, 
his  righteous  and  all-powerful  foe.  But  now  he  has 
been  reconciled  to  God.  Moreover,  the  infinite  cost,  to 
God,  of  this  reconciliation,  reveals  the  infinite  earnest- 
ness of  God's  purpose  to  save  and  to  bless  him.  That 
earnestness  assures  us  that,  whatever  is  needful  to 
complete  the  work  already  begun,  God  will  do.  For, 
otherwise,  the  work  already  done  will  be  in  vain,  and 
the  price  paid  for  it  wasted.  We  cannot  doubt  that 
"He  who  has  begun  a  good  work  will  complete  it."     We 


Lect.  VII]       REPENTANCE,   FAITH,    JUSTIFICATION  49 

therefore  look  forward  with  confidence  to  the  eternal 
glory  which  God  has  promised.  And  the  prospect  fills 
us,  even  amid  the  hardships  of  life,  with  exultant  joy  : 
"  we  exult  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God."  This  hope  and 
joy  (Rom.  v.  2)  are  immediate  results  of  justification 
through  faith  and  through  the  death  of  Christ. 


LECTURE    VIII 

ADOPTION 

WE  come  now  to  consider  the  teaching  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  especially  of  Paul,  about 
the  work  of  God  in  man  following  justification.  In 
order  to  be  effectual,  this  work  must,  as  already  seen, 
include  deliverance  from  all  inward  bondage  to  sin : 
and,  for  the  accomplishment  of  God's  creative  purpose, 
it  must  also  include  restoration  of  man's  normal  relation 
to  God. 

In  the  earlier  volume  we  found,  with  the  Father  in 
eternity  yet  personally  distinct  from  Him,  one  who 
claims,  as  expressing  a  relation  to  God  of  unique 
dignity,  the  title  Son  of  God.  In  Rom.  viii.  29  Paul 
teaches  that  God  predestined  His  chosen  ones  "  to  be 
conformed  to  the  image  of  His  Son,"  with  the  ultimate 
purpose  that  He  may  be  "  firstborn  among  many 
brethren."  In  other  words,  before  the  world  was,  God 
resolved  to  surround  His  eternal  Son  with  later-born 
sons  who  should  be  sharers  of  His  likeness.  Thus  wi.l 
the  Only-begotten  become  the  Firstborn. 

The  accomplishment  of  this  eternal  purpose  has 
already  begun.      In  Job  i.  6  and  again  in  ch.  xxxviii.  7 


Lect.  VIII]  ADOPTION  51 

we  read  of  *'  sons  of  God  :  "  and  it  is  difficult  to  inter- 
pret this  phrase  otherwise  than  of  supernatural,  in- 
telligent, and  holy  beings.  As  possessing  a  nature 
like  that  of  God  and  derived  from  God,  these  may 
appropriately  be  described  as  His  sons.  Here  then  we 
have  created  sons  of  God. 

In  Exodus  iv.  22,  23  God  bids  Moses  say  to  Pharaoh 
"  Israel  is  My  son,  My  firstborn  ...  let  My  son  go 
that  he  may  serve  Me."  A  nation  is  here  spoken  of 
as  holding  a  peculiar  relation  to  God  which  may  be 
described  as  sonship.  Similarly,  in  2  Sam.  vii.  14  God 
says,  touching  David's  son,  "  I  will  be  to  him  for  a 
father,  and  he  shall  be  to  Me  for  a  son."  Here  the 
dignity  given,  under  the  oppression  in  Egypt,  to  the 
whole  nation  is  summed  up  in  the  theocratic  king  who 
was  to  occupy  a  unique  relation  to  God  as  His  Son. 
A  further  development,  we  note  in  Hosea  i.  10,  where 
the  prophet  announces  that  in  days  to  come  "  in  the 
place  where  it  is  said  to  them,  *  no  people  of  Mine 
are  ye,'  it  shall  be  said  to  them,  *  ye  are  sons  of  the 
living  God.'"  This  ancient  prophecy,  Paul  quotes  in 
Rom.  ix.  26  as  fulfilled  in  those  who  have  obtained 
the  righteousness  which  is  through  faith. 

To  the  Christians  in  Galatia,  imperfect  as  they  were, 
after  teaching  in  Gal.  ii.  16,  iii.  8  that  through  faith  a 
man  is  justified,  Paul  writes  in  ch.  iii.  26,  "ye  are  all 
sons  of  God  through  faith,  in  Christ  Jesus."  This 
assertion,  especially  the  concluding  words,  he  supports 
by  adding,  "  for  so  many  of  you  as  were  baptized  for 
Christ  have  put  on  Christ."     Evidently  he  means  that 


52  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

they  who  have  believed  and  been  baptized  have,  in  some 
real  sense,  assumed  Christ's  relation  to  God,  and  arc 
therefore,  like  Him,  sons  of  God.  This  teaching  is 
further  expounded  in  ch.  iv.  6,  7,  where  we  read, 
"  because  ye  are  sons,  God  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  His 
Son  into  your  hearts  crying  *  Abba,  Father.'  So  then 
thou  art  no  longer  a  servant,  but  a  son," 

Similar  teaching  meets  us  in  the  closely-related 
Epistle  to  the  Romans.  In  Rom.  viii.  14  we  read, 
"  so  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  these  are 
sons  of  God."  So  vv.  15,  16  :  "  in  whom  we  cry,  *  Abba, 
Father.'  The  Spirit  Itself  bears  witness  with  our 
spirit  that  we  are  children  of  God."  In  v.  19  we  read 
of  "the  revelation  of  the  sons  of  God  ;"  and  in  z/.  21 
of  "the  glory  of  the  children  of  God."  Similarly  in 
ch.  ix.  8,  "  not  the  children  of  the  flesh,  not  these  are 
children  of  God."  In  Phil.  ii.  15  Paul  desires  that  his 
readers  may  be  "  spotless  children  of  God,  in  the  midst 
of  a  crooked  and  perverse  generation  among  w^hom  ye 
appear  as  lights  in  the  world." 

Similar  teaching,  from  an  altogether  independent 
source,  but  in  close  harmony  with  Gal.  iii.  26,  meets 
us  in  John  i.  12  :  "so  many  as  received  Him,  He  gave 
to  them  authority  to  become  children  of  God,  to  those 
who  believe  in  His  name."  Also,  from  the  same  writer, 
in  I  John  iii.  i  :  "see  what  kind  of  love  the  Father  has 
given  to  us,  in  order  that  we  may  be  called  children 
of  God;  and  such  we  are."  Again,  in  vv.  9,  10: 
"  everyone  that  is  born  from  God  does  no  sin  .  .  .  and 
he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  begotten   from  God.     In 


Lect.  VIII]  ADOPTION  53 

this  are  manifest  the  children  of  God  and  the  children 
of  the  devil."  Teaching  very  similar  to  this  last  is 
traced  to  the  lips  of  Christ  in  John  viii.  43,  where  to 
men  who  claimed  to  have  "  one  Father,  even  God," 
our  Lord  replies,  "  if  God  were  your  Father  ye  would 
love  Me  ...  ye  are  from  your  father  the  devil,  and 
the  works  of  your  father  ye  wish  to  do."  In  Matt.  v.  9, 
in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  we  read  "  blessed  are  the 
peace-makers  :  for  they  shall  be  called  sons  of  God." 
And  again  in  vv.  44,  45,  "love  your  enemies  ...  in 
order  that  ye  may  become  sons  of  your  Father  in 
heaven  "  In  Luke  xx.  36  Christ  says  that  "  they  who 
have  been  counted  worthy  to  obtain  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead  .  .  .  cannot  die  any  more :  for  they 
are  equal  to  angels  and  are  sons  of  God,  being  sons  of 
the  resurrection." 

From  the  above  it  appears  that  Paul  and  John  agree 
to  teach  that  they  who  believe  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
thereby  become  sons  of  God  ;  and  that  similar  teaching 
is  in  three  Gospels  attributed  to  Christ. 

This  teaching  receives  in  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  where 
it  occupies  a  larger  place  than  elsewhere  in  the  New 
Testament,  a  peculiar  form.  In  Gal.  iv.  6  he  states  that 
"  God  sent  forth  His  Son  ...  in  order  to  redeem  those 
under  law "  with  the  ultimate  purpose  "  that  we  may 
obtain  the  adoption^  Similarly  in  Rom.  viii.  15  :  "ye 
have  received  a  Spirit  of  adoption " ;  and  in  a  later 
group  of  Epistles,  in  Eph.  i.  5,  "  having  predestined  us 
for  adoption  through  Jesus  Christ."  The  uncommon 
Greek   word    here    used  is  an   equivalent  to  the   Latin 


54  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  11 

word  adoptlo,  the  ordinary  term  for  a  Roman  legal 
process  by  which  one  man  took  another's  son  to  be  his 
own  son.  This  process  sundered,  with  certain  limi- 
tations, all  legal  relations,  between  the  adopted  son  and 
his  natural  father,  and  created  a  new  relation  which  in 
the  eye  of  the  law  was,  with  the  above  limitations,  the 
same  as  that  of  a  born  son  to  his  own  father.  The 
adopted  son  took  the  name  and  rank,  and  became  heir 
to,  the  adopting  father.  "  The  person  adopting  became 
the  lawful  father  of  one  who  was  not  his  natural  child, 
but,  who  thereupon  became  his  lawful  son  or  daughter, 
and  a  member  of  his  family  :  "  Smith's  Dictionaiy  of 
Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  art.  Adoptio,  Third 
Edition. 

This  term,  Paul  the  Roman  citizen,  and  of  the  writers 
of  the  New  Testament  he  only,  uses  to  describe  the 
changed  relation  to  God  of  the  justified.  It  suggests 
that  the  change  is  as  great  as  when  a  child  of  a  poor 
man,  or,  as  was  sometimes  the  case,  of  a  slave,  was 
received  into  a  rich  man's  family  to  be  henceforth  his 
son.  The  adopted  one  might  be  a  little  child.  How 
vast  to  him  the  significance  of  the  legal  process  about 
which  he  knew  nothing  !  There  awaits  him  now,  not 
the  hardship  and  degradation  of  slavery,  but  wealth  and 
luxury.  By  using  this  term,  Paul  teaches  that  they 
who  were  once  slaves  of  sin  have  been  received  into  the 
family  of  God  as  His  children. 

The  same  word  is  used  in  Rom.  viii.  23  as  an  equivalent 
to  "  the  redemption  of  the  body,"  i.e.  its  rescue  from  the 
grave.     This  use  is  easily  explained.     For  the  outward 


Lect.  VIII]  ADOPTION  55 

and  visible  reception  of  the  adopted  sons  is  still  future. 
At  present  their  real  position  is  veiled.  But  even  the 
material  world  is  waiting  (Rom.  viii.  19)  for  "the  un- 
veiling of  the  sons  of  God."  They  will,  on  the  resur- 
rection morning,  be  welcomed  in  splendour  to  the  home 
of  their  adopting  Father  in  heaven.  This  will  be  "  the 
glory  of  the  children  of  God."  The  word  is  used  again 
in  Rom.  ix.  4  to  describe  the  first  of  the  many  privileges 
of  ancient  Israel  whose  misuse  Paul  so  sadly  deplores. 
This  is  in  close  harmony  with  Exodus  iv.  22,  already 
quoted,  "  Israel  is  My  firstborn  son."  Of  all  the  nations 
of  the  world,  God  took  Israel  to  stand  in  a  special  filial 
relation  to  Himself. 

The  use  of  this  legal  term,  and  by  Paul  only,  is  a 
remarkable  coincidence  with  the  use  by  him  only  of  the 
legal  term  iustification  to  describe  the  pardon  of  sins, 
and  with  the  teaching  by  him  only  that  the  death  of 
Christ  stands  in  special  relation  to  the  justice  and  the 
Law^  of  God.  So  familiar  to  Paul's  thought  was  the 
idea  of  law  that  even  the  Gospel  of  Christ  assumes  with 
him  a  legal  dress. 

In  close  harmony  with  the  teaching  expounded  above, 
the  adopted  sons  are  spoken  of  as  heirs.  So  Gal.  iii,  29, 
"  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  heirs 
according  to  promise  ;  "  and  ch.  iv.  7,  "  if  a  son,  also  an 
heir  through  God."  Also  Rom.  viii.  17,  "if  children, 
also  heirs  ;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs  of  Christ."  This 
last  passage  asserts  that  we  are  sharers  with  Christ,  not 
only  in  His  relation  to  God  as  Son,  but  also  in  the 
infinite  blessings  which  are  His  in  virtue  of  that  relation- 


56  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

ship.  The  same  idea  is  expressed  by  the  cognate  word 
inheritance  in  Eph.  i.  14,  18,  v.  5,  Col.  iii.  24.  Notice 
also  Titus  iii.  7,  "in  order  that,  justified  by  His  grace, 
we  may  become  heirs  according  to  the  hope  of  eternal 
life  ;  "  and  Acts  xx.  32,  in  an  address  of  Paul,  "  to  give 
to  you  an  inheritance  among  all  that  are  sanctified." 

That  believers  in  Christ  are  "  sons  "  whom  He  "  isjiot. 
ashamed  to  call  bmtlireD,"  is  taught  in  Heb.  ii.  10-12  : 
so  ch.  xii.  7,  8.  As  Son  of  God,  Christ  is  "  made  heir  of 
all  things  : "  ch.  i.  2.  And  in  ch.  i.  14  we  read  of  "  those 
who  will  inherit  salvation."  The  same  or  cognate  words, 
in  the  same  connection  of  thought,  are  found  in  Heb. 
vi.  17,  ix.  15,  xi.  7,  8  ;  and  in  i  Peter  i.  4,  "  begotten  us 
again  for  an  inhe?'itance ;"  also  in  James  ii.  5,  ^'  Jieirs  of 
the  kingdom  which  He  has  promised  to  those  that  love 
Him."  This  use  of  the  word  recalls  its  use  in  the  Lxx. 
as  a  constant  equivalent  of  a  Hebrew  word  describing 
the  covenant  with  God  and  the  blessings  involved  therein 
which  passed  down  from  Abraham  to  his  descendants. 
So  Gen.  xv.  3,  4,  8  ;  Deut.  iv.  i,  5,  14,  22,  26,  38,  47. 

Thus  various  writers  of  the  New  Testament  assert,  in 
somewhat  different  forms,  that  they  who  believe  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  are  not  only  accepted  by  God  as 
righteous,  in  spite  of  their  past  sins,  but  are  received 
into  His  family  as  His  sons  and  as  sharing,  or  some  day 
to  share,  with  the  eternal  Son,  in  virtue  of  their  new 
relation  to  God,  all  the  wealth  of  God.  As  a  conspicuous 
element  common  to  several  types  of  teaching  in  the  New 
Testament,  we  may  accept  this  with  perfect  confidence 
as  actually  taught  by  Christ. 


Lect.  VIII]  ADOPTION  57 

In  all  these  passages,  from  various  writers,  we  have 
not  an  original,  but  an  acquired,  sonship.  They  who 
are  sons  of  God  "  by  faith  "  were  not,  in  the  same  sense. 
His  sons  before  they  believed.  Adopted  sons  could  not 
be  sons  by  birth.  For  no  Roman  adopted  his  own 
son.  They  to  whom  God  gave  "  authority  to  become 
children  of  God  "  manifestly  were  not  such  before  they 
received  Christ.  The  contrast  between  "  the  children  of 
God  and  the  children  of  the  devil "  proves  that  in  the 
writer's  thought  not  all  men  are  children  of  God.  From 
all  this  it  is  evident  that  the  writers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment did  not  look  upon  men  as  sons  of  God  in  virtue  of 
their  original  derivation  from  Him  ;  that,  as  used  by 
them,  the  term  "  sons  of  God  "  denotes  a  new  relation 
acquired  by  personal  faith. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  address  at  Athens  recorded 
in  Acts  xvii.  28,  Paul  quotes  with  approval  a  poet  who 
claims  for  men  divine  origin  :  *'  His  offspring  we  are." 
The  word  offspring  is  a  general  term  used  also  for 
animals,  noting  mere  derivation  of  life,  rational  or 
irrational.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  v.  29,  which  is 
a  comment  on  this  quotation,  Paul  is  satisfied  with  the 
same  term  to  describe  the  common  relation  of  all  men 
to  God.  Instead  of  using  his  own  familiar  phrase,  soirs 
or  children  of  God,  he  says  merely  "  being  then  an  off- 
spring of  God."  Had  it  stood  alone,  this  choice  of 
words  would  have  had  no  significance.  But,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  teaching  quoted  above,  it  reminds 
us  that  Paul  never  speaks  of  all  men  as  sons  of  God,  but 
habitually  uses  language  which  excludes  this  idea. 


58  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

A  conspicuous  and  beautiful  exception,  and  in  the 
New  Testament  the  only  exception,  to  this  usage  is 
found  in  Luke  xv.  ii ,  24,  where,  even  in  the  far  country, 
the  prodigal  remembers  his  father,  and  returning  is 
recognised  as  his  son  :  "  this  my  son  was  dead,"  etc.  It 
is  always  unsafe  to  build  theology  on  parable  or  metaphor. 
But  this  parable  presents  what  we  at  once  feel  to  be 
another  real  side  of  the  sinner's  relation  to  God.  Among 
all  visible  creatures  of  God  man  occupies  a  unique  place 
as  in  a  special  sense  an  offspring  of  God  sharing  His 
intelligent  and  moral  nature.  This  unique  relation  and 
similarity  to  God  is  conspicuous  in  Gen.  i.  26-28,  "  let 
us  make  man  in  Our  image,  after  Our  likeness  .  .  .  and 
God  created  man  in  His  own  image,  in  the  image 
of  God  created  He  him  ; "  and  in  ch.  ii.  7,  "  and  Jehovah 
God  formed  man,  dust  from  the  ground,  and  breathed 
into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life."  And  the  Bible 
bears  abundant  witness  that  the  whole  human  race,  thus 
closely  related  to  God,  is  an  object  of  His  tender  paternal 
love.  In  this  correct  sense,  even  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  historic  revelations  recorded  in  the  Bible,  men  have 
looked  up  to  the  Creator  of  the  universe  as  the  loving 
Father  of  all  men. 

To  this  conception  ot  our  relation  to  God,  we  have  an 
easy  and  remarkable  transition,  from  the  different  points 
of  view  of  Paul  and  John,  in  Matt.  v.  45,  where  Christ 
speaks  to  His  disciples  (v.  i)  about  God  as  their  Father 
in  heaven,  and  says  that  by  imitating  Him  they  may 
become  His  sons.  Similarly  in  chs.  v.  16,  vi.  i,  4,  6,  9, 
14,  15,  18,  26,  32,  vii.  II,  X.  29,  Mark  xi.  25,  Luke  vi.  36, 


Lect.  VIII]  ADOPTION  59 

xi.  13,  xii.  30,  32.  But  we  cannot  fairly  infer  from  these 
passages  that  God  is  Father  of  all  men  :  for  Christ  is 
speaking  to  His  disciples.  Yet,  when  we  remember 
that  all  men  spring  from  God  and  share  His  nature,  as 
the  lower  animals  do  not,  and  are  objects  of  His  special 
love,  it  is  easy  to  extend  to  the  whole  race  the  relation 
expressed  in  the  words  "  our  Father  in  heaven."  On 
the  other  hand,  this  language  does  nothing  to  weaken 
the  remarkable  reservation  by  Paul  and  John  of  the  terms 
S071S  and  children  of  God  to  those  who  believe  in  Christ. 

This  reservation,  obscuring  as  at  first  sight  it  does  the 
great  truth  of  the  universal  fatherhood  of  God,  demands 
explanation.  This  is  to  be  found  in  the  solemn  truth 
that  by  sin  all  men  have  lost  the  rights  of  sonship 
involved  in  their  original  derivation  from  God.  Just  so, 
we  may  conceive  a  king's  son  who  had  rebelled  against 
his  father  to  lose  the  right  of  inheritance  and  to  be 
treated  as  an  ordinary  rebel.  The  completeness  of  this 
loss  could  not  be  more  forcefully  expressed  than  it  is 
by  the  language  which  describes  the  sinner's  re-entrance 
by  adoption  into  the  family  of  God.  To  that  family  he 
now  comes  as  an  alien  and  is  received  into  it,  not  by 
right  of  birth,  but  by  a  familiar  legal  process  by  which 
even  the  child  of  a  slave  might  become  a  member  of 
his  master's  family.  And  we  cannot  doubt  that  it  was 
in  order  to  put  in  the  clearest  light  the  utter  loss  by  sin 
of  man's  original  privileges  as  a  son  of  God  that  Paul 
and  John  ignored  altogether  that  original  relationship 
and  used  the  language  quoted  above. 

It  is  now  evident  that  the  believer's  adoption  into  the 


6o  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

family  of  God  differs  from  Roman  adoption  in  that  it 
is  a  restoration  to  an  original  and  glorious  relation. 
This  original  relation  gives  to  the  newly  acquired 
relation  its  real  significance  and  worth.  Roman  adop- 
tion was  only  a  legal  fiction.  A  man  might  teach  an 
adopted  son  to  call  him  father  ;  but  for  all  that  he  was 
no  father  and  the  child  no  son  of  his.  But  when  the 
adopted  sons  of  God  call  Him  Father,  their  cry  is 
no  fiction  but  profound  truth.  For  originally,  in  a  sense 
deeper  than  any  mere  human  relationship,  they  sprang 
from  God.  As  derived  from  Him,  sharing  His  nature, 
yet  personally  distinct  from  Him,  they  are  His  children. 
All  that  Adoption  has  done  is  to  restore  a  relation 
broken  by  sin. 

Such  is,  as  taught  by  Paul  and  in  part  by  John,  the 
next  step  after  justification  in  the  way  of  salvation.  In 
human  courts,  when  a  man  is  charged  with  a  crime  and 
after  due  investigation  acquitted,  he  simply  goes  away, 
perhaps  to  starve.  But  those  who  have  been  found 
guilty  of  rebellion  against  God,  and  have  been  pardoned 
"  through  the  redemption  in  Christ  Jesus,"  are  at  once 
received  into  the  family  of  God  with  all  the  rights  of 
sons. 

Adoption  is  by  faith  and  for  all  that  believe.  So 
Gal.  iii.  26,  27,  *'  ye  are  all  sons  of  God  through  faith, 
in  Christ  Jesus  :  for  so  many  as  have  been  baptised  into 
Christ  have  put  on  Christ  ;  "  and  John  i.  12,  "as  many 
as  received  Him,  He  gave  to  them  authority  to  become 
children  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  in  His  name.'* 
Similarly,    though  in  a  somewhat    different  form  to  be 


Lect.  VIII]  ADOPTION  6i 

expounded  in  Lect.  XL,  in  i  John  v.  i,  "everyone  that 
believes  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God  is  begotten  from 
God."  Consequently,  as  each  obtained  by  faith  in 
Christ,  justification  and  adoption  go  together.  But  they 
are  distinct  objects  of  thought  and  faith.  By  the  one 
we  pass  from  under  the  frown  and  condemnation  of 
God  ;  by  the  other  we  enter  His  family 

The  teaching  just  expounded  is  of  the  utmost  practical 
importance.  Thousands  of  men  and  women,  to-day, 
amid  the  pressing  cares  and  the  disappointments  of  life 
look  back  with  vain  regret  to  the  bygone  days  of  child- 
hood with  its  freedom  from  care  and  its  bright  hopes. 
These  joys  of  childhood,  but  in  richer  measure,  the 
teaching  of  this  lecture  gives  us  back  again.  For  the 
children  of  God,  touching  all  that  is  good  in  childhood, 
are  children  still.  The  fathers  in  whom  once  they 
trusted  lie  dead  in  the  grave.  Yet  they  are  not  orphans. 
For  they  live  in  the  presence  and  smile  of  a  Father  in 
heaven  who  is  infinitely  better  able  to  help  them  than 
was  the  father  they  have  lost ;  and  in  His  protection  and 
love  they  find  refuge  from  every  storm  and  a  solace  in 
every  sorrow.  The  day  dreams  of  their  past  childhood 
have  been  dispelled  by  the  rude  actualities  of  mature 
life.  But  the  roughness  of  their  journey  is  cheered,  and 
its  darkest  steps  are  brightened,  by  the  prospect  of 
an  eternal  manhood  in  which  the  loftiest  hopes  ever 
cherished  will  be  surpassed  by  an  infinite  and  glorious 
realisation.  The  prospect  of  that  inheritance  has  given 
to  them  unfading  youth. 

As   yet,  however,   we  have  found   no   actual    inward 


62  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

change,  no  rescue  from  the  power  and  bondage  of  sin. 
But,  of  this  deliverance,  both  justification  and  adoption 
are  sure  pledges.  For  without  loyalty  and  love  sonship 
is  an  empty  name  :  and  love  to  God  is  incompatible 
with  sin.  Moreover  the  infinite  cost  involved  in  the 
mission  of  the  eternal  Son  to  save  His  lost  brethren 
assures  us  that  God  will  do  all  that  is  needful  to  make 
their  adoption  into  His  family  a  glorious  and  complete 
reality.  How  this  deliverance  will  be  wrought  out,  we 
wait  to  learn. 


LECTURE    IX 

THE  SPIRIT  OF  ADOPTION' 

IN  Gal.  iv.  5  Paul  asserts  that  the  ultimate  purpose 
for  which  God  sent  forth  His  Son  to  buy  off  those 
under  law  is  "  that  we  may  obtain  the  adoption."  In 
his  readers  in  Galatia  this  purpose  was  attained.  For 
in  ch.  iii.  26  the  Apostle  writes,  "  ye  are  all  sons  of  God 
through  faith,  in  Christ  Jesus."  In  ch.  iv.  6  he  goes  on 
to  say  that,  because  this  purpose  is  attained  and  his 
readers  are  already  sons,  God,  who  sent  forth  His  Son, 
has  sent  forth  also  "  the  Spirit  of  His  Son "  into  their 
hearts  ;  and  that  the  Spirit  thus  sent  cries  "  Abba, 
Father."  From  this  he  at  once  infers,  "  so  then  thou 
art  no  longer  a  servant  but  a  son."  This  new  cry, 
prompted  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Son  sent  by  the  Father 
into  the  hearts  of  His  adopted  sons,  reveals  an  inward 
change  in  them  corresponding  to  the  relative  change 
involved  in  their  adoption.  And  the  mission  of  the 
Spirit  into  their  hearts  affords  proof  of  the  change 
wrought  in  them  by  the  mission  of  the  Son  of  God  into 
the  world. 

The  Spirit  thus  given  is  designed  to  be  a   Guide  in 
life  leading  us  in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  prompted 
6  63 


64  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

by  the  needs  and  desires  of  the  body.  So  Gal.  v.  i6,  17  : 
"walk  by  the  Spirit  and  ye  will  not  accomplish  the 
desires  of  the  flesh  ;  for  the  flesh  desires  against  the 
Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh,  in  order  that, 
whatever  things  ye  wish,  these  ye  may  not  do."  The 
Spirit  is  also  represented  in  v.  22  as  a  living  seed 
bearing  the  manifold  and  beautiful  fruit  of  all  human 
excellence.  In  ch.  iii.  2,  3,  the  Spirit  obtained  by  faith 
is  appealed  to  in  argument  as  a  conspicuous  feature  of 
the  new  life  in  Christ. 

In  Rom.  viii.  2,  Paul  joyfully  declares  that  the  law 
of  the  Spirit  of  life  has  made  those  in  Christ  Jesus 
free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.  His  whole  argu- 
ment implies  that  the  word  spirit  has  the  same  reference 
throughout  vv.  2-16;  and  if  so  it  denotes  throughout, 
as  in  V.  9,  the  Spirit  of  God.  Evidently  Paul  means, 
in  V.  2,  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  working  out  His  own 
will  in  the  justified  as  a  rule  of  life,  has  broken  the 
bondage  to  sin  and  death  described  in  ch.  vii.  14-25. 
They  in  whom  is  fulfilled  the  purpose  for  which  (v.  3) 
God  sent  His  Son  "walk  {v.  4)  not  according  to  flesh 
but  according  to  Spirit."  In  other  words,  their  steps 
in  life  are  in  harmony  with  the  will  of  the  Spirit  of 
God.  They  are  (v.  14)  "led  by  the  Spirit ;"  and  (v.  13) 
by  His  influence  are  destroying  the  power  of  their 
bodily  life.  In  close  agreement  with  Gal.  iv.  6,  this 
guiding  Spirit  is  called  in  Rom.  viii,  15,  16  a  "Spirit 
of  Adoption,"  is  said  to  move  those  in  whom  He  dwells 
to  "  cry  Abba,  Father,"  and  "  bears  witness  that  they 
are  children  of  God."     This  teaching  suggests  or  implies 


Lect.  IX]  THE  SPIRIT  OF  ADOPTION  65 

that  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  follows  immediately,  and 
cpnsummates,  and  testifies  to,  adoption. 

Throughout  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  the  gift  of  the 
Spirit  is  a  conspicuous  element  of  the  new  life  in  Christ. 
So  2  Cor.  i.  22,  "  who  sealed  us,  and  gave  the  earnest 
of  the  Spirit  in  our  hearts  ; "  Eph.  i.  13,  14,  "in  whom, 
having  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  promise,  who  is  an  earnest  of  our  inheritance  ; " 
ch.  iv.  30,  "the  Holy  Spirit,  in  which  ye  were  sealed 
for  the  day  of  redemption." 

Very  conspicuous  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  is  the  promise 
of  the  Spirit  given  by  Christ  to  His  disciples  on  the 
night  of  His  betrayal.  He  then  spoke  of  "another 
Helper,  the  Spirit  of  the  Truth,"  whom  He  would  send 
from  the  Father  and  who  would  teach  the  disciples  ail 
things,  would  bring  to  their  memory  the  words  of  Christ 
and  guide  them  in,  or  into,  all  the  truth,  and  who  would 
abide  with  them  forever:  John  xiv.  16,  17,  26,  xv.  26, 
xvi.  13,  14.  John  the  Baptist  announced,  as  recorded  in 
Matt.  iii.  11,  that  Christ  would  "baptize  with  the  Holy 
Spirit."  And  Christ  promised  (Matt.  x.  20)  that,  when 
His  disciples  were  for  His  sake  brought  before  judges, 
the  Spirit  of  God  would  speak  in  them.  All  this  leaves 
no  room  for  doubt  that  Christ  taught  that,  to  those  who 
should  believe  His  words,  He  would  give  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  be  in  them  the  animating  principle  and  the 
guide  and  strength  of  a  new  life.  This  we  may  accept 
as  an  assured  result  of  our  examination  of  the  Christian 
documents. 

The  meaning  of  the  evidently  equivalent  phrases  the 


66  THE   RESTORATION  [Part  II 

Spirit  of  Godf  the  Spirit  of  His  Son^  the  Holy  Spirit  now 
demands  attention.  The  word  spirit  suggests  or  implies 
an  invisible  and  life-giving  principle  moving  men  from 
within,  as  man's  own  spirit  gives  life  to,  and  moves,  his 
body.  This  suggestion  is  supported  by  a  comparison 
in  I  Cor.  ii.  ii  :  "  who  of  men  knows  the  things  of  the 
man  except  the  spirit  of  the  man  which  is  in  him  ?  So 
also  the  things  of  God  no  one  knows  except  the  Spirit 
of  God."  And  in  Rom.  viii.  i6  the  Spirit  of  God  and 
the  spirit  of  man  are  placed  in  close  relation  as  together 
bearing  witness  that  those  led  by  the  Spirit  are  sons 
of  God.  The  distinctive  term  Spirit  of  God  suggests 
that  this  last  is  as  much  above  our  spirit  as  is  God 
above  man. 

The  same  or  a  similar  phrase  is  already  familiar  to 
us  in  the  Old  Testament.  Of  Samson  we  read  in 
Judges  xiii.  25,  "  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah  began  to  move 
him  at  times  in  the  camp  of  Dan  ; "  and  in  ch.  xiv.  5,  6, 
"  a  young  lion  roared  against  'him.  And  the  Spirit  of 
Jehovah  lighted  upon  him,  and  he  rent  it  as  he  would 
have  rent  a  kid."  Here  we  have  manifestly  an  inward 
divine  influence  arming  Samson  with  superhuman 
power.  Similarly,  Exodus  xxxi.  2,  3  :  "  I  have  called 
Bezaleel  and  I  have  filled  him  with  the  Spirit  of  God, 
in  wisdom  and  in  understanding  and  in  knowledge  and 
in  all  work,  to  devise  devices,  to  work  in  gold  and  in 
silver  and  in  brass."  Here  the  Spirit  of  God  gave  to 
the  artist  skill  to  design  and  erect  the  Tabernacle.  A 
still  more  important  inspiration  is  mentioned  in  2  Sam. 
xxiii.    I,    2:    "The    sweet    psalmist  of   Israel   said,   the 


Lect.  IX]  THE  SPIRIT  OF  ADOPTION  67 

Spirit  of  Jehovah  spoke  in  me  and  His  word  was  upon 
my  tongue."  Similarly,  Ezek.  ii.  1,2:  "  And  He  said 
to  me,  son  of  man,  stand  upon  thy  feet,  and  I  will  speak 
to  thee.  And  there  entered  into  me  a  Spirit  when  He 
spoke  to  me ;  and  He  set  me  upon  my  feet,  and  I  heard 
Him  that  spoke  to  me."  In  the  New  Testament,  the 
voice  of  the  prophets  is  frequently  traced  to  the  Spirit 
of  God.  So  Acts  xxviii.  25,  "  Well  spoke  the  Holy 
Spirit  through  Isaiah  the  prophet  ; "  i  Peter  i.  1 1, 
"  searching  what  or  what  manner  of  season  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify."  In  this 
last  passage,  the  prophets  are  represented  as  themselves 
conscious  of  a  higher  inspiration  and  as  seeking  for 
its  meaning.  And  in  all  these  places  the  Spirit  of 
God  is  evidently  a  divine  influence,  or  a  divine  source 
of  such  influence,  moving  men  from  within  and  giving 
to  them  supernatural  power,  skill,  and  intelligence,  and 
thus  making  them  to  be  the  arm,  hand,  and  voice,  of 
God. 

In  the  New  Testament,  the  Spirit  bears  a  new  name. 
He  is  the  "  Spirit  of  Christ  "  and  "  of  the  Son  of  God." 
Now  in  the  incarnate  Son  we  must  conceive  (see  Lect. 
XXXIII.)  a  created  sinless  human  spirit  and  the  spiritual 
personality  of  the  eternal  Son  of  God.  But  neither  of 
these  can  be  the  meaning  of  the  term  before  us  as 
used  in  Rom.  viii.  9,  Gal.  iv.  6 :  for  it  is  manifestly 
equivalent  to  the  term  Spirit  of  God.  It  denotes  rather 
the  source  of  an  inward  influence  related  both  to  the 
Son  and  to  the  Father,  animating,  strengthening,  and 
guiding    from  within,   the    adopted    sons    of   God.      In 


68  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

Lect.  XXXIV.  we  shall  learn  that  the  source  of  this 
influence  is  a  divine  Person  distinct  from,  yet  intimately 
related  to,  the  personality  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
Son.  He  is  called  in  Gal.  iv.  6  "the  Spirit  of  His 
Son "  in  order  to  note  the  close  relation  between  the 
eternal  Son  and  the  Spirit  given  to  the  adopted  sons. 

We  shall  find  that  between  the  Son  and  the  Spirit 
is  absolute  and  eternal  and  essential  harmony,  each 
being  derived  from  the  one  eternal  Father,  and  sharing 
to  the  full  His  divine  attributes.  In  the  incarnate  Son, 
the  glory  of  the  Father  is  set  before  the  eyes  of  men. 
By  the  Spirit  of  God,  given  to  dwell  in  the  adopted 
sons,  is  revealed  in  them  the  glory  of  the  Father  and 
the  Son.  And  He  is  the  Bearer  to  them  and  in  them 
of  the  mind  and  power  of  God. 

Such  then  is  the  Spirit  of  God.  To  those  whom,  by 
a  divine  act  which  Paul  compares  to  the  Rom.an  legal 
process  of  adoption,  God  receives  into  His  family  as 
sons,  He  gives  the  Spirit  of  the  eternal  Son,  the  Bearer 
of  the  mind  and  power  of  God,  to  be  in  them  the 
animating  principle  of  a  life  like  that  of  the  eternal  Son. 

Notice  here  another  difference  between  Evangelical 
and  Roman  Adoption.  The  latter  was  only  formal. 
For  the  nature  of  the  adopted  son  was  in  no  wise  derived 
from  his  adopting  father.  But  He  who  at  first  breathed 
into  Adam  rational  and  moral  life,  and  who  in  Christ 
has  adopted  those  who  by  their  sin  had  lost  all  rights 
of  sonship,  can  and  does  breathe  into  His  adopted  sons 
the  breath  of  a  new  and  divine  life,  even  the  Spirit  of 
the  Son  of  God.     Thus,  evangelical  adoption,  which  in 


Lect.  IX]  THE  SPIRIT  OF  ADOPTION  69 

itself  is  but  a  relative  change,  is  immediately  followed 
by,  and  inseparably  connected  with,  the  inspiration  of 
a  new  life,  the  life  of  the  eternal  Son. 

The  Spirit,  thus  given,  "  cries"  in  the  hearts  of  those 
to  whom  He  is  given,  "  Abba,  Father."  The  word  Abba 
is  Aramaic,  the  language  commonly  spoken  in  Palestine 
in  the  days  of  Christ.  Of  the  same  language,  we  have 
specimens  in  Mark.  v.  41,  vii.  34,  xv.  34.  We  may 
speak  of  it  as  the  mother-tongue  of  Christ.  He  spoke 
often  and  conspicuously  of  God  and  to  God  as  Father  of 
Himself  and  of  His  disciples  :  "  My  Father  and  your 
Father."  And  in  the  word  Abba,  preserved  in  the  same 
connection  in  Mark  xiv.  36,  Rom.  viii.  15,  Gal.  iv.  6, 
the  vocal  form  used  by  Christ  has  passed  into  other 
languages.  To  this  Aramaic  word  was  added,  in  all 
three  passages  just  quoted,  in  order  to  explain  its 
significance,  its  Greek  equivalent  Fat/iej' ;  the  two  words, 
Aramaic  and  Greek,  being  blended  together  in  one 
address  to  God. 

This  cry  is  evidently  a  genuine  human  expression  of 
man's  consciousness  of  filial  relation  to  an  unseen  Father 
in  heaven.  Hence  Paul  writes  in  Rom.  viii.  15,  "we 
cry  Abba,  Father."  Since  it  is  prompted  by  a  super- 
human and  divine  influence,  he  writes  also  "  in  whom 
we  cry."  And,  leaving  out  of  sight  for  a  moment  the 
human  appropriation  of  the  inspired  cry  the  Apostle 
speaks,  in  Gal.  iv.  6,  of  "  the  Spirit  of  His  Son "  as 
Himself  "  crying  Abba,  Father." 

The  process  of  this  divine-human  cry,  we  may  trace 
one  step  further.     In  Rom.  v.  5  we  read  that  "  the  love 


70  THE   RESTORATION  [Part  II 

of  God  is  poured  out  in  our  hearts  through  the  Holy 
Spirit  given  to  us."  From  v.  8  we  learn  that  the  love 
of  God  here  mentioned  is  God's  love  to  us  revealed  in 
the  gift  of  Christ  to  die  for  man.  The  love  poured  out 
in  our  hearts  can  be  no  other  than  the  love  of  God 
manifested  historically  in  the  death  of  Christ  and  made 
known  to  each  believer  by  the  Holy  Spirit  opening  his 
intelligence  to  grasp  the  significance  of  the  historical 
fact.  Thus  does  the  Spirit  of  the  Truth  take  the  things 
of  Christ  and  show  them  to  His  disciples.  And,  like 
poured-out  perfume,  the  love  thus  revealed  fills  and 
permeates  their  consciousness.  This  love,  historically 
manifested  and  spiritually  apprehended,  is  recognised 
as  a  Father's  love  :  and  the  immediate  response  is  Abba, 
Father.  Thus  the  Spirit  of  Adoption  puts  into  the 
hearts  of  the  adopted  ones  a  consciousness  of,  and  filial 
confidence  in,  a  Father  in  heaven. 

As  already  seen,  the  same  Spirit  guides  the  adopted 
sons  along  a  path  of  obedience,  a  path  trodden  by  the 
Firstborn  Son,  to  whose  image  God  has  predestined 
the  later-born  sons  to  be  conformed.  That  in  them 
filial  confidence  is  accompanied  by  filial  obedience,  and 
that  the  Spirit  who  moves  them  to  call  God  their  Father 
leads  them  along  a  path  which  their  moral  sense 
approves,  is  the  strongest  possible  confirmation  of  the 
truth  of  the  Gospel  they  have  believed  and  of  the  reality 
of  the  adoption  it  announces. 

The  teaching  just  expounded  contains  a  strong  moral 
motive.  For  we  have  learnt  that  confidence  in  God  as 
our  Father  is  wrought   in  us  by  that    Spirit  who  ever 


Lect.  IX]  THE  SPIRIT  OF  ADOPTION  71 

guides  men  along  the  path  marked  out  for  them  by  the 
Law  of  God.  Consequently,  all  sin  is  resistance  to  the 
Spirit  of  Adoption,  and  therefore  tends  to  weaken  our 
filial  confidence  in  God  and  to  dim  the  brightness  of 
our  hope  and  joy.  This  moral  lesson  is  enforced  by 
Paul  in  Rom.  viii.  12-14,  ^i^d  in  Gal.  v.  16-26,  in  each 
place- as  a  corollary  from  his  teaching  about  adoption. 


LECTURE   X 

ASSURANCE   OF  SALVATION 

AFTER  asserting  in  Rom.  viii.  15  that  himself  and 
his  readers  have  received  a  Spirit  of  adoption, 
under  whose  influence  they  cry  Abba,  Father,  Paul  adds 
in  V.  16,  without  any  connecting  particle,  "the  Spirit 
itself  bears  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  children 
of  God."  These  last  words  recall  v.  14,  "so  many  as  are 
led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  these  are  sons  of  God." 
Evidently,  v.  16  \s  added  to  prove  the  statement  in  v.  14, 
i.e.  to  show  how  the  Spirit  of  Adoption,  which  moves  us 
to  cry  Abba,  Father,  affords  proof  that  they  who  are 
led  by  the  Spirit  of  God  are  sons  of  God.  We  shall 
find  that  it  states  in  compact  form  the  argument  already 
involved  in  vv.  14,  15. 

The  Greek  word  rendered  spirit  (irvevfjia)  is  neuter. 
Hence  the  A.V.  renders  "  the  Spirit  itself."  But  inas- 
much as  there  is  proof  elsewhere  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
is  a  person  distinct  from  the  Father,  the  R.V.  renders 
"  the  Spirit  himself"  It  thus  reads  into  Paul's  words 
a  just  inference  from  other  New  Testament  teaching. 
This  teaching  will  be  expounded  in  Lect.  XXXIV.  The 
results  there  reached,  I  shall  at  once  assume,  and  speak 


Lect.  X]  ASSURANCE   OF  SALVATION  73 


of  "  the  Spirit  Himself."  This  last  word  thrusts  into 
prominence  the  Spirit  of  God  as  by  His  own  presence 
Himself  h&3.vmg  witness  that  they  whom  He  guides  are 
children  of  God. 

Notice  here  two  witnesses,  the  Spirit  of  God  and  our 
own  spirit,  bearing  the  same  testimony.  For  the  com- 
posite verb  avv/jiaprvp€L  denotes  a  joint  testimony  :  and 
the  only  partner  in  it  here  suggested  is  "our  own 
spirit."  The  same  composite  word  is  found  also  in 
Rom.  ii.  15,  ix.  i,  in  each  case  denoting  a  joint  and 
confirmatory  witness. 

The  Greek  word  rendered  dear-witness  is  frequent  in 
the  New  Testament,  and  in  some  classical  writers,  for 
anything  which  affords  proof.  A  close  parallel  to 
Rom.  viii.  16  is  found  in  John  v.  $6  :  "the  works  them- 
selves which  I  do  bear-witness  about  Me  that  the  Father 
has  sent  Me."  Evidently  Christ  means  that  His  works 
of  power  afford  proof  of  His  divine  mission.  So  in 
John  X.  25,  to  some  who  asked  Him  to  say  plainly 
whether  He  is  the  Christ,  our  Lord  replied,  "  the  works 
which  I  do  in  My  Father's  name,  they  bear-witness 
about  Me."  In  Acts  xiv.  3,  we  read  that  "  the  Lord 
bore-witness  to  the  word  of  His  grace,  by  giving  signs 
and  wonders  to  be  wrought  by  the  hands  "  of  Paul  and 
Barnabas.  Similarly,  \nv.  17  Paul  asserts  that  the  God 
of  nature  "left  not  Himself  without  witness,  giving  rain 
and  fruitful  seasons."  In  all  these  cases  we  have  silent 
witnesses  ;  but  they  afford  convincing  proof. 

In  several  passages,  the  word  witness  is  used  in  con- 
nection with  the  Spirit  of  God.     So  Acts  xv.  8,  "  God 


74  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

bore  witness  for  them,  by  giving  the  Holy  Spirit  as  also 
to  us."  Peter  refers  to  the  manifest  gift  of  the  Spirit  to 
Cornelius  and  his  friends,  as  narrated  in  Acts  x.  44,  47, 
xi.  15.  Notice  also  Heb.  ii.  4:  "God  bearing  witness 
along  with,  and  upon,  their  witness  {a-vveirLfjiapTvpovvTo^) 
by  signs  and  wonders  and  various  powers  and  impar- 
tations  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  In  another  mode,  viz.  by 
prompting  an  Old  Testament  prophet  to  speak  and 
write,  we  are  told  in  Heb.  x.  1 5  that  "  the  Holy  Spirit 
bears-witness!' 

How  do  the  Spirit  of  God  and  man's  own  spirit  "  bear 
joint  testimony  that  we  are  children  of  God  ? "  An 
answer  to  this  question  is  found  in  the  preceding  verse. 
For  evidently  the  human  cry  ("  we  cry,  Abba,  Father  ") 
is  a  testimony  of  a  human  spirit  revealing  the  speaker's 
consciousness  of  a  filial  relation  to  God.  The  words 
our  spirit  are  specially  appropriate  :  for  experience  tells 
us  that  this  cry  is  a  voice,  not  of  man's  lower  bodily 
nature,  but  of  that  in  him  which  is  noblest  and  nearest 
to  God.  This  cry  is  also  superhuman.  For  it  is 
prompted  by  the  Spirit  of  God  :  "  in  whom  we  cry  Abba, 
Father."  By  prompting  that  cry,  the  Spirit  of  God 
affords  proof,  and  in  this  sense  bears  witness,  that  we 
are  children  of  God.  For  otherwise  we  should  have 
no  right  to  accost  Him  as  our  Father.  In  other  words, 
the  filial  confidence  in  God  of  those  led  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  is  itself  a  decisive  and  divinely-given  proof  that 
they  are  His  children.  This  proof,  Paul  describes,  using 
a  mode  of  speech  frequent  in  the  New  Testament, 
by  saying  that  the  Spirit  of  God  joins  with  our  own 


Lect.  X]  ASSURANCE   OF  SALVATION  75 

spirit    in    bearing    witness    that    we    are    children    of 
God. 

An  essential  link  in  the  argument  of  Rom.  viii.  12-17 
is  (v.  14)  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  and  {v.  13)  the 
gradual  destruction  of  the  immoral  dominion  of  the 
body.  The  believer  is  immediately  conscious  of  his 
filial  confidence  in  God  ;  and  knows  by  experience  that 
it  has  its  seat  in  the  noblest  element  of  his  being.  But 
he  is  also  conscious  of  power  over  sin,  of  a  supernatural 
influence  within  him  which  enables  him  to  break  off  the 
fetters  of  the  bodily  life  with  its  desires  and  passions 
and  which  leads  him  along  a  path  which  his  moral 
sense  approves.  This  filial  confidence  and  moral  power 
have  manifestly  the  same  source  :  for  they  rise  or  sink 
together.  This  moral  effect  identifies  the  influence 
which  prompts  it  as  distinctively  that  of  the  "  Spirit 
of  God  :"  V.  14.  And,  that  the  same  influence  moves 
us  to  call  God  our  Father,  as  we  read  in  v.  15,  leaves  no 
room  for  doubt  that  we  are  His  children. 

Paul  continues  his  argument  by  saying  that,  if  we  are 
children  of  God,  then  are  we  His  heirs,  sharers  of  the 
heritage  of  Christ,  i.e.  partners  not  only  of  His  sufferings 
but  of  His  glory.  If  so,  they  who,  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Spirit,  are  crushing  the  appetites  of  their  bodily 
life  will  share  the  eternal  life  of  Christ  :  "  if  by  the  Spirit 
ye  are  putting  to  death  the  actions  of  the  body,  ye  will 
live." 

Notice  here  a  confident  and  intelligent  assurance  of 
the  favour  of  God.  For  the  sonship  here  asserted  and 
proved    involves    partnership  in  the    heritage  of  Christ 


76  THE   RESTORATION  [Part  II 

and  a  share  in  the  glory  about  to  be  revealed.  And, 
since  "all  have  sinned,  and  fall  short  of  the,  glory  of 
God,"  it  involves  pardon  of  sin  and  assurance  of  pardon. 
Notice  also  that  this  inward  experience  of  filial  confid- 
ence in  God  is  made  a  basis  of  argument  and  a  ground 
of  "  hope  of  the  glory  of  God."  This  assurance  is 
worthy  of  further  consideration. 

In  Lect.  IX.  we  traced  the  believer's  filial  cry  to  the 
love  of  God  manifested  in  the  death  of  Christ  for  man's 
sin.  Consequently,  on  this  well-attested  historical  fact 
rests  his  confident  assurance  of  the  favour  of  God.  We 
notice  also  that  in  Rom.  v.  5-11  the  spiritual  significance 
of  this  historical  fact  and  of  the  love  therein  manifested 
is  expounded  by  logical  and  conclusive  argument.  This 
argument  assumes  Christ's  claim  to  be  "  the  Son  of 
God  "  and  the  good  news  of  pardon  announced  by  Him. 
This  claim  and  this  good  news  Paul  accepted  because 
they  came  from  Him  who  was  raised  from  the  dead. 
Consequently,  the  assurance  of  personal  salvation  which 
finds  expression  in  Rom.  v.  i-ii,  viii.  15-18  rests  upon 
teaching  which  we  have  traced  to  the  lips  of  Christ,  and 
upon  facts  about  Christ  attested  by  abundant  and 
decisive  documentary  and  historical  evidence.  We 
have,  as  I  have  shown  in  the  earlier  volume,  historical 
proof  that  He  announced  pardon  for  all  who  believe, 
that  He  claimed  to  be  in  a  unique  sense  the  Son  of 
God,  and  that  in  proof  of  this  claim  He  rose  from  the 
dead.  The  glad  announcement  of  forgiveness  so  well 
attested,  we  venture  ourselves  to  believe.  By  so  doing 
we  enter  into  the  number  of  those  whom  God  receives  as 


Lect.  X]  ASSURANCE   OF  SALVATION  77 

righteous,  and  whom  in  the  Gospel  He  declares  that  He 
receives.  Now  faith  is  matter  of  direct  consciousness. 
The  mind  which  is  at  rest  knows  that  it  is  at  rest. 
Consequently,  by  faith  we  not  only  enter  the  number  of 
those  whom  God  receives  but  know  that  we  enter. 

Moreover,  we  have  documentary  proof  that  Christ 
taught  that  the  salvation  announced  by  Him  comes 
through  His  own  death  on  the  cross.  In  the  death 
of  the  Son  of  God  in  order  to  save  man,  we  see  a  proof 
of  the  infinite  love  of  God  to  man.  And  in  this  love, 
thus  attested,  our  faith  finds  still  broader  and  firmer 
ground  on  which  it  rests  with  a  security  which  nothing 
can  disturb. 

In  Rom.  V.  5  Paul  mentions  for  a  moment  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  revealing  to  us  the  love  of  God  manifested  in 
the  death  of  Christ.  In  ch.  viii.  1-16  the  relation  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  to  our  salvation  and  to  our  assurance 
of  salvation  is  more  fully  expounded.  We  are  there 
told  that  He  gives  us  power  over  sin  and  thus  sets 
us  free  from  its  dominion  ;  and  that  He  mov^es  us  to 
call  God  our  Father,  thus  bearing  witness  that  we  are 
children  of  God.  This  last,  the  Spirit  does  by  opening 
our  minds  to  understand  the  Gospel  of  Christ  and  the 
significance  of  His  death  and  resurrection.  Thus  our 
assurance  of  salvation  has  an  historical  and  document- 
ary basis,  capable  of  intelligent  investigation,  and  a 
superhuman  and  spiritual  source,  attested  by  spiritual 
phenomena  known  to  us  by  direct  introspection  and 
incapable  of  explanation  by  natural  causes. 

Notice  carefully  that,  although  our  filial  confidence  in 


78  THE   RESTORATION  [Part  II 

God  and  our  assurance  of  personal  salvation  are  derived 
from  the  Spirit  of  God  and  are  confirmed  by  their  own 
evidently  divine  origin,  they  do  not  at  first,  nor  after- 
wards as  their  ultimate  ground,  rest  upon  this  confidence. 
Our  assurance  of  the  favour  of  God  rests  primarily  on 
words  and  teaching  which  we  have  traced  by  docu- 
mentary evidence  to  the  lips  of  Christ,  on  the  love 
of  God  manifested  in  the  historical  fact  of  His  death, 
and  on  His  well-attested  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
To  this  abundant  and  decisive  objective  evidence  we 
can  go  back  in  moments  of  doubt,  and  in  it  find  mental 
and  spiritual  rest.  At  the  same  time  we  infer  with  con- 
fidence that  the  faith  which  rests  securely  on  these 
words  and  facts  is  wrought  in  us  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ; 
and  in  the  manifest  presence  of  the  Spirit  in  our  hearts, 
guiding  our  steps  and  breathing  into  us  confidence  in 
God  we  find  important  confirmation  of  the  word  which 
at  first  in  our  guilt  and  fear  and  darkness  we  ventured 
to  believe. 

Closely  connected  with,  yet  distinct  from,  the  double 
witness  mentioned  in  Rom.  viii.  i6,  we  find  in  2  Cor. 
i.  12  another  inward  witness,  viz.  that  of  our  con- 
science :  "  For  this  our  exultation  is  the  witness  of 
our  conscience  that  with  holiness  and  sincerity  of  God, 
not  in  worldly  wisdom  but  in  the  grace  of  God,  we 
behaved  ourselves  in  the  world,  and  especially  towards 
you."  Here  that  inner  faculty  by  which  a  man  searches 
and  judges  his  own  actions  and  motives  bears  witness 
to  the  holiness  and  sincerity  of  Paul's  past  life.  We 
have  thus    in    the    Christian    life    four    distinct,  though 


Lect.  X]  ASSURANCE   OF  SALVATION  79 

closely  related,  witnesses  :  (i)  the  testimony  of  Christ 
(cp.  John  iii.  11,"  what  we  have  seen  we  bear  witness  ") 
preserved  for  us  in  the  New  Testament,  (2)  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  the  Truth,  who 
makes  the  recorded  words  of  Christ  to  be  a  living 
voice  in  our  hearts,  (3)  the  re-echo  of  this  voice  in  our 
own  spirit,  in  that  element  of  our  nature  on  which  the 
Spirit  directly  operates,  and  (4)  the  testimony  of  our 
conscience  to  the  moral  effects  wrought  by  the  Gospel 
in  our  lives  and  hearts.  This  last  is  the  final  verification 
of  all  that  goes  before. 

An  assurance  of  personal  salvation  involving  forgive- 
ness of  sins  is  conspicuous  in  the  First  Epistle  of  John. 
So  I  John  ii.  12,  "  I  write  to  you,  little  children,  because 
your  sins  are  forgiven  you  for  His  name's  sake." 
Whether  the  words  "  little  children  "  refer  to  believers 
generally  or  to  the  latest-born  children  of  God,  these 
words  imply  that  forgiveness  of  sins  is  a  privilege  of 
all  who  believe  in  Christ.  And  manifestly  the  persons 
here  referred  to  knew  that  their  sins  were  forgiven. 
Otherwise  these  words  would  be  an  important  announce- 
ment, whereas  they  are  given  merely  as  explaining  the 
reason  for  writing.  Full  assurance  of  salvation  is  also 
asserted  in  i  John  iii.  14,  "we  know  that  we  have 
passed  out  of  death  into  life  because  we  love  the 
brethren."  Notice  also  i  John  iii.  24,  "  and  he  that 
keeps  His  commandments  abides  in  Him,  and  He  in 
him.  And  in  this  we  know  that  He  abides  in  us,  from 
the  Spirit  which  He  has  given  to  us."  In  this  passage, 
the   words  "  in   this "   may  refer  either  back  to  "  keeps 


8o  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

His  commandments,"  or  forward  to  "from  the  Spirit:" 
in  the  former  case  the  writer  asserts  that  our  knowledge 
of  our  inward  union  with  Christ  has  its  root  in  our 
obedience  to  His  commands  and  its  source  in  the 
Spirit  of  God  given  to  us  ;  in  the  latter  he  asserts  only 
that  our  assurance  is  derived  from  the  Sg^irit.  In  either 
case  our  knowledge  of  union  with  Christ  is  traced 
indirectly  or  directly  to  the  Holy  Spirit.  More  definite 
is  I  John  iv.  12,  13,  "if  we  love  one  another  God  dwells 
in  us  and  His  lo\c  is  perfected  in  us.  In  this  we  know 
that  wc  abide  in  Him  and  He  in  us  because  He  has 
given  to  us  of  His  Spirit."  Here  the  words  "we  know 
.  .  .  because  "  seem  to  point  to  a  logical  inference.  We 
find  ourselves  loving  our  brethren  with  a  love  which  we 
know  to  be  not  human  but  divine  and  therefore  given 
to  us  by  the  Spirit  of  God  :  and  from  this  we  infer  that 
we  are  inwardly  united  to  Him  {vv.  10,  11)  who  "so 
loved  us  "  that  "  He  sent  His  Son  to  be  a  propitiation 
for  our  sins." 

These  passages,  while  approaching  in  modes  of 
thought  tl.osc  of  Paul  expounded  above,  do  not  assert 
so  definitely  as  docs  Paul  that  our  filial  confidence  in 
God  is  a  divinely-given  proof  that  we  are  His  children 
and  shall  share  the  heritage  of  Christ. 

In  I  John  V.  13  we  are  told  that  the  Epistle  was 
written  in  order  that  they  who  believe  in  the  name  of 
the  Son  of  God  may  know  that  they  have  eternal  life. 
In  other  words,  assurance  of  salvation  is  one  purpose 
for  which  the  New  Testament  was  written.  This  implies 
that  our  assurance  rests  upon  the  written  word. 


Lect.  X]  ASSURANCE   OF  SALVATION  8i 

A  secure  objective  basis  for  assurance  of  personal 
salvation  is  found  in  the  words  of  Christ  recorded  in 
the  Fourth  Gospel.  In  John  v.  24  Christ  says,  *' Verily, 
verily,  I  say  to  you,  He  that  hears  My  word  and 
believes  Him  that  sent  Me  has  eternal  life,  and  does 
not  come  into  judgment,  but  is  passed  out  of  death 
into  life."  Similarly,  John  iii.  16,  18,  36,  vi.  35,  40,  47, 
xi.  25,  26.  In  these  passages  Christ  asserts,  with 
conspicuous  and  emphatic  repetition,  that  everyone  who 
believes  in  Him  has  eternal  life.  This  can  only  mean 
that  they  who  believe  have  a  life  which  death  cannot 
destroy  and  which  will  abide  for  ever.  This  implies 
forgiveness  of  sins.  For  all  have  sinned ;  and  the 
wages  of  sin  is  death.  They  who  venture  to  believe 
these  glad  tidings  of  life  read  in  them  an  announcement 
of  their  own  pardon.  For  they  are  immediately  con- 
scious of  their  own  faith  ;  and  therefore  know  that  they 
come  within  the  number  of  those  for  whom  the  Gospel 
proclaims  forgiveness.  Thus  in  the  recorded  words  of 
Christ  they  find  a  firm  objective  ground  for  faith  in 
Christ  and  for  assurance  that,  though  sinners,  they  are 
heirs  of  the  infinite  blessings  promised  by  God  to  those 
who  believe  in  Christ.  And  this  objective  evidence  is 
confirmed,  as  we  have  seen  and  shall  in  the  following 
lectures  see  still  more  clearly,  by  subjective  evidence 
found  in  their  own  inner  life. 

The  doctrine  of  assurance  as  expounded  in  this  lecture 
is  guarded  from  immoral  abuse  by  the  plain  teaching  of 
Paul  and  John  that  the  judgment  of  God  is  against  all 
who  commit  sin,  teaching  re-echoed,  with  an  authority 


82  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

we  dare  not  contradict,  by  the  judge  supreme  who  sits 
enthroned  in  the  moral  sense  of  man.  As  examples,  I 
may  quote  Rom.  ii.  1-29  which  forms  a  foregoing  moral 
basis  for  the  evangelical  teaching  in  the  chapters  follow- 
ing ;  also  ch.  viii.  1-16,  where  the  two  elements  are 
interwoven  throughout  ;  Gal.  v.  16 — vi.  10,  following 
ch.  iii.  26 — iv.  7  ;  and  i  John  ii.  29— iii.  24,  where  again 
the  two  elements  are  interwoven.  This  teaching,  thus 
re-echoed,  makes  it  impossible  for  us  to  believe  that  we 
enjoy  the  favour  of  God  while  doing  that  which  He 
condemns.  The  possible  or  conceivable  or  inconceivable 
case  of  men  having  their  conscience  so  seared  that  they 
believe  that  God  smiles  on  them  because  of  their  faith 
or  of  some  religious  observance,  even  while  continuing 
in  sin,  need  not  perplex  us.  For  any  such  abnormal 
development  cannot  shake  the  well-grounded  confidence 
of  sincere  servants  of  Christ. 


LECTURE   XI 

THE  NEW  BIRTH 

IN  John  i.  12  we  read,  in  close  agreement  with  the 
teaching  of  Paul,  "  so  many  as  received  Him,  He 
gave  to  them  authority  to  become  children  of  God,  to 
those  who  believe  in  His  name."  These  children  of 
God,  the  writer  further  describes  by  adding,  "  who  were 
born^  not  from  blood,  nor  from  the  will  of  flesh,  nor  from 
the  will  of  man,  but  from  God.''  The  phrase  born  from 
God  evidently  describes  an  inward  spiritual  change 
accompanying  entrance  into  the  privileges  of  the  chil- 
dren of  God. 

This  teaching  makes  natural  birth  a  metaphor  of  the 
spiritual  life.  It  implies  that,  just  as  by  natural  birth 
we  enter  into  a  new  life  and  into  the  visible  world  and 
receive  powers  fitting  us  for  life  in  the  world,  so  in  those 
who  believe  in  Christ  a  spiritual  change  has  taken  place 
which  has  given  to  them  a  new  life,  a  new  spiritual 
environment,  and  new  spiritual  powers.  Of  this  new 
life,  God  is  the  source.  It  is  not  derived  "  from  blood," 
i.e.  from  the  material  constitution  of  living  bodies,  nor 
"  from  the  will  of  flesh,"  i.e.  from  animal  instincts,  nor 
"  from  the  will  of  man,"  i.e.  from  human  desire  and 
purpose,  but  "  from  God." 

83 


S4  THE   RESTORATION  [Part  II 

In  John  iii.  3-8,  similar  teaching  is  traced  to  the  lips 
of  Christ.  To  Nicodemus  He  says,  "  except  a  man  be 
born  from  above  (or,  born  agahi)  he  cannot  see  the  King- 
dom of  God."  The  precise  rendering  is  unimportant. 
For  a  birth  from  above  must  necessarily  be  a  second 
birth  :  and  a  birth  from  the  Spirit  {y.  5)  must  be  a  birth 
from  above. 

This  new  or  higher  birth  is  said  to  be  "  from  water 
and  Spirit."  That  these  two  different  sources  are  united 
under  one  preposition,  places  them  in  close  relation. 
The  contrast  of  water  and  Spirit  recalls  the  Baptist's 
words  recorded  in  John  i.  26  and  33  :  "I  baptize  with 
water  .  .  .  this  is  He  that  baptizes  with  the  Holy  Spirit." 
That  this  new  life  is  derived  from  the  Spirit,  is  indis- 
putable. For,  as  we  shall  see,  the  Spirit  of  God  is  the 
divine  inward  channel  of  all  blessing  from  God  to  man, 
and  the  inward  immediate  source  of  all  life,  natural  and 
spiritual.  Consequently,  they  who  are  born  from  God 
must  be  born  from  the  Spirit. 

The  simplest  interpretation  of  from  water  is  to  take 
it  as  a  reference  to  Baptism.  By  commissioning  His 
disciples  to  baptize  all  the  nations,  Christ  made  Baptism 
obligatory  to  all  His  followers.  To  men  who,  like 
Nicodemus,  first  received  the  Gospel  in  adult  age, 
Baptism  was  a  formal  confession  of  Christ.  And  such 
confession  Christ  required  from  all  His  followers.  In 
this  important  sense,  to  Nicodemus,  Baptism  was  a 
condition  of  salvation.  It  was  for  him  the  only  gateway 
into  the  new  life.  And  as  such  it  might  be,  as  here, 
spoken  of  as  a  source   of  the  new   birth.     For,  every 


Lect.  XI]  THE  NEW  BIRTH  85 

condition  may  be  looked  at  as  a  source  of  that  which 
is  dependent  upon  it.  Nicodemus  shrank  from  pubHc 
confession  of  Christ.  In  these  words  our  Lord  suggests 
plainly  that  there  is  no  other  way  into  the  Kingdom 
of  God. 

To  the  words  just  expounded,  Christ  adds  in  John  iii. 
6  a  comparison  and  contrast  of  natural  and  spiritual 
birth  similar  to  that  suggested  in  John  i.  13.  The 
stream  cannot  rise  above  its  source.  Consequently, 
"  that  which  is  born  from  flesh  is  flesh  :  "  i.e.  a  life 
derived  from  a  merely  animal  or  human  source  must  be 
itself  only  animal  or  human,  whereas  a  life  derived  from 
a  spiritual  source  partakes  the  higher  nature  of  its 
source.  The  new  birth  is  further  illustrated  by  another 
comparison.  The  Greek  word  rendered  spirit  also 
denotes  wind.  Our  Lord  points,  in  John  iii.  8,  to  the 
wind,  mysterious  in  its  source  and  aim,  and  declares 
that  similar  mystery  overhangs  the  spiritual  birth. 

Doubtless  in  these  words  of  Christ  to  Nicodemus 
we  have  the  source  of  the  Evangelist's  own  teaching  in 
John  i.  13. 

Similar  teaching  meets  us  in  the  First  Epistle  of 
John,  a  document  evidently  from  the  same  hand  as  the 
Fourth  Gospel.  In  1  John  ii.  29  we  read,  "if  ye  know 
that  He  is  righteous,  ye  know  that  everyone  that  does 
righteousness  has  been  born  from  Him."  Here  all 
human  righteousness  is  traced  to  Christ  through  a  super- 
natural birth.  The  writer  goes  on  to  speak  of  his 
readers  in  i  John  iii.  i,  2  as  "children  of  God."  In 
V.   8    wc    read  that   "  he  who  commits  sin   is   from  the 


S6  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  11 


devil  ;  "  and  in  v.  9,  "  everyone  that  is  born  from  God 
commits  no  sin  .  .  .  and  he  cannot  sin  because  he  is  born 
from  God.  In  this  are  manifest  the  children  of  God  and 
the  children  of  the  devil."  Similarly,  in  i  John  v.  i,  2, 
"  everyone  that  believes  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  born 
from  God.  And  everyone  that  loves  Him  that  begat 
loves  him  also  that  is  begotten  from  Him;"  also  in 
V.  4,  "  all  that  is  begotten  from  God  conquers  the 
world."  Other  similar  teaching  in  v.  18.  These  pas- 
sages assert  that  all  who  believe  in  Christ  and  all  who 
do  right  are  born  from  God,  and  that  the  new  life  thus 
received,  so  long  as  it  lives  in  them,  makes  sin  im- 
possible. In  other  words,  they  have  received  from  God 
a  new  life  which,  like  natural  birth,  brings  them  into 
a  new  environment  and  gives  to  them  new  powers 
corresponding  to  it. 

Teaching  practically  the  same  is  found  in  i  Peter  i,  3  : 
"  who,  according  to  His  great  mercy,  has  begotten  us 
again  to  a  living  hope,  through  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,  to  an  inheritance  incor- 
ruptible and  undefiled  and  unfading."  Here  God  is 
the  Author  of  the  new  birth  :  and  the  resurrection  of 
Christ  is  the  instrument  by  which  it  was  brought  about. 
By  raising  Christ,  God  gave  to  men  an  historical  foun- 
dation for  that  faith  which  is  in  a  unique  sense  the 
condition  of  salvation  ;  and  thus  virtually  raised,  with 
Him,  to  share  His  resurrection  life,  all  who  will  after- 
wards put  faith  in  Him.  For,  had  He  not  risen  from 
the  dead,  there  had  been  no  saving  faith,  no  Gospel, 
no  Pentecost,  and  no  Church  of  Christ.     So  in   v.   21  : 


Lect.  XI]  THE   NEW  BIRTH  87 

"who  through  Him  are  behevers  in  God,  who  raised 
Him  from  the  dead  and  gave  Him  glory  ;  so  that  your 
faith  and  hope  are  in  God."  The  state  into  which  the 
new  Hfe  brings  those  who  receive  it  is  one  not  so  much 
of  possession  as  of  "  hope."  But  it  is  a  "  Hving  hope  :  " 
for  it  is  the  inspiration  of  a  new  Hfe.  The  object  of  this 
hope  is  an  "  inheritance,"  i.e.  an  enrichment  to  be 
received  in  virtue  of  fihal  relation  to  the  source  of  the 
new  life.  Just  so,  the  heir  to  an  estate  is  born,  not  to 
immediate  possession,  but  to  a  hope  of  wealth  to  be 
his  in  the  future,  and  this  in  virtue  of  his  filial  relation 
to  its  owner. 

Similarly,  in  i  Peter  i.  23  :  "  born  again,  not  from 
corruptible  seed,  but  incorruptible,  by  means  of  the 
living  and  abiding  word  of  God."  The  word  seed  recalls 
I  John  iii.  9 :  "  his  seed  remains  in  him,  and  he  cannot 
sin  because  he  is  born  from  God."  Here  the  Gospel, 
which  is  God's  voice  and  word  to  man,  is  represented  as 
the  instrument  of  the  new  birth.  And  appropriately  so  : 
for  the  good  news  of  salvation  is  the  means  by  which 
God  evokes  in  man  saving  faith. 

Teaching  practically  the  same  as  the  above  is  found 
in  James  i.  18:  "of  His  awn  will  brought  He  us  forth, 
by  the  word  of  truth,  that  we  should  be  a  kind  of  first- 
fruit  of  His  creatures." 

It  is  now  evident  that  Peter  and  James  and  John, 
and  Christ  as  His  words  are  recorded  in  the  Fourth 
Gospel,  agree  to  teach  that  they  who  believe  in  Christ 
have  experienced  an  inward  change  analogous  to  birth  ; 
or,  in  other  words,  have  received  from  God,  while  the 


88  THE   RESTORATION  [Part  II 

natural  life  derived  from  natural  birth  still  lives  in 
them,  a  new  and  higher  life  breathed  into  them  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  placing  them  in  a  new  spiritual  environ- 
ment, and  giving  them  new  spiritual  faculties  corres- 
ponding to  this  new  environment.  This  new  life  is 
obtained  by  faith.  To  the  earliest  disciples  it  was 
obtained  by  Baptism.  For,  by  ordaining  this  rite  and 
commanding  the  Apostles  to  baptize  all  the  nations, 
Christ  made  it  obligatory  on  all  His  servants;  and 
therefore,  to  all  who  had  not  already  received  it,  a 
condition  of  His  favour. 

Already  we  have  seen  that  the  terms  Jiistification 
through  faith  and  Adoption  are  found  in  the  New 
Testament  only  from  the  pen  or  lips  of  Paul.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  the  New  birth  is  mentioned  by 
Paul  only  in  Titus  iii.  5,  where  we  read  of  the  "  bath 
of  the  new  birth."  These  words,  I  do  not  know  how 
to  interpret  except  as  a  reference  to  Baptism.  Cp.  Acts 
xxii.  16  :  "  arise  and  be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy 
sins."  The  connection  in  Titus  iii.  5  between  salvation, 
the  bath  of  the  new  birth,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  recalls 
John  iii.  5.  An  approach  to  the  doctrine  of  the  new 
birth  is  found  also  in  i  Cor.  iv.  15:  "  not  many  fathers  : 
for  in  Christ  Jesus  through  the  Gospel  I  begat  you." 
Here,  as  in  the  teaching  of  Peter  and  James,  tha-  Gospel 
is  the  instrument  of  a  new  birth.  But  the  spiritual 
change  thus  described  is  traced  only  as  far  as  the 
preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

We  now  see  that  ADOPTION,  accompanied  by  the 
gift  of  the  Spirit   of  adoption,   is  a  distinctive  element 


Lect.  XI]  THE  NEIV  BIRTH  89 

of  the  teaching  of  Paul ;  and  that  the  NEW  BiRTH  is 
an  element  common  to  some  other  writers  of  the  New 
Testament,  especially  to  John,  but  not  familiar  to  the 
thought  of  Paul.  The  two  phrases,  however,  represent, 
under  different  aspects,  substantially  the  same  spiritual 
experience.  Paul,  with  his  legal  bent  of  mind,  looks 
upon  the  believer's  reception  into  the  family  of  God 
and  into  the  rights  of  sons,  as  forensic,  i.e.  simply  as 
a  changed  relation  of  man  to  God,  in  accordance  with 
the  principles  of  the  Law  of  God,  But  a  mere  forensic 
change  will  not  supply  man's  deep  spiritual  need.  Con- 
sequently, Paul  supplements  his  teaching  about  Adop- 
tion by  that  of  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  to  the  adopted 
sons.  So,  in  addition  to  passages  already  quoted, 
Eph.  i.  5,  13,  14:  "  predestined  for  adoption  ...  having 
believed,  ye  were  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is 
an  earnest  of  our  inheritance."  The  Holy  Spirit  thus 
given  to  those  who  believe  becomes  in  them  the 
animating  and  directing  principle  of  a  new  life,  makes 
them  conscious  of  a  new  environment,  and  endows  them 
with  capacities  for  a  new  life  therein.  These  ideas 
permeate  the  entire  teaching  of  Paul.  Every  church- 
member  is  assumed  to  have  received  the  indwelling 
presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  thus  to  have  been 
made  alive  in  Christ,  and  to  have  received  from  the 
Spirit  powers  fitting  him  for  the  new  environment 
into  which  the  new  life  has  brought  him. 

Other  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  and  our  Lord 
as  His  words  are  there  recorded,  look  upon  the  same 
great  change  from  another  point  of  view  and  describe 


90  THE    RESTORATION  [Part  II 

it  as  a  new  birth.  And  rightly  so :  for  it  is  an 
entrance  into  a  new  Hfe  and  into  a  new  world.  The 
element  common  to,  and  underlying,  these  two  modes 
of  presenting  the  inward  change  which  follows  justifica- 
tion is  the  teaching  of  nearly  all  the  writers  of  the  New 
Testament  that  those  whose  sins  are  forgiven  are  also 
sons  of  God.  Paul,  remembering  that  God  gave  Christ 
to  die  in  order  to  harmonise  the  pardon  of  sin  with  His 
own  justice,  represents  believers  as  sons  of  God  by  the 
legal  process  of  adoption  ;  supplementing  this  by  his 
teaching  about  the  Spirit  of  Adoption.  The  other 
writers  represent  them  as  sons  of  God  in  virtue  of 
a  new  birth  wrought  in  them  through  the  agency  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  That  this  common  element  gave  rise 
to  these  two  distinct,  though  harmonious,  modes  of 
expression,  reveals  its  deep  and  firm  hold  of  the 
thought  of  the  early  followers  of  Christ 

Results  attained.  In  Part  I.  we  found  man 
guilty  of  actual  sin  and  thus  shut  out  from  the  smile  of 
God  and  exposed  to  the  penalty  which  inevitably  follows 
sin,  and  unable  either  to  win  back  the  favour  of  God 
or  to  obey  in  the  future  ;  but  at  the  same  time  an  object 
of  influences  from  God  tending  towards  repentance  and 
righteousness  and  revealing  a  purpose  of  God  to  save 
fallen  and  rebellious  man.  In  Part  II.  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  purpose  has  begun.  Man  has  been  rescued 
from  ruin  and  has  entered  the  path  which  leads  to  the 
glorious  inheritance  of  the  sons  of  God. 

To  the  sinner  God  has  revealed  his  sin  and  ruin,  and 


Lect.  XI]  THE   NEW  BIRTH  91 

has  thus  forced  from  him  a  cry  for  deliverance  and 
evoked  in  him  an  earnest  purpose  to  forsake  sin.  The 
penitent  has  heard  the  good  news  of  salvation 
announced  by  Christ ;  and,  in  view  of  the  infinite  love 
manifested  on  His  cross  and  the  infinite  power  mani- 
fested in  His  resurrection  from  the  dead,  he  has 
ventured  to  believe  it.  He  has  thus  come  within  the 
number  of  those  for  whom  Christ  announced  pardon. 
Although  his  original  rights  as  a  son  of  God  were 
forfeited  by  sin,  God  has  received  the  now  justified 
sinner  into  His  family  and  has  counted  him  among 
the  heirs  to  the  inheritance  of  Christ.  Both  pardon 
and  reception  into  the  family  of  God  were  in  harmony 
with  the  principles  of  justice.  They  are  therefore 
described  by  Paul  as  justification  and  adoption. 

The  happy  change  which  has  taken  place  is  much 
more  than  legal.  For  the  adopting  Father  has  put 
into  the  bosom  of  His  adopted  sons  the  Spirit  of  His 
firstborn  Son  to  be  in  them  the  animating  principle 
of  a  new  life  like  that  of  Christ  The  Spirit  thus 
given  is  a  new  inward  moral  pouer  breaking  the  fetters 
of  past  sin,  and  a  fruitful  seed  of  all  virtues.  The 
same  Spirit  reveals  to  them,  i.e.  brings  home  to  their 
consciousness,  the  infinite  love  of  God  manifested,  i.e, 
set  publicly  before  the  eyes  of  men,  in  the  death  of 
Christ ;  and  thus  evokes  in  them  the  filial  cry.  My 
Father  God.  This  cry,  the  believer  recognises  as  no 
mere  human  voice  but  the  voice  of  that  Spirit  who 
has  already,  by  breaking  the  bonds  of  sin,  proved 
Himself  to  be  the  Spirit  of  God.     This  filial  confidence 


92  THE  RESTORATION  [Part  II 

in  God  thus  becomes  a  decisive  confirmation  of  that 
Gospel  which  in  his  sin  and  helplessness  he  dared 
to  believe.  Thus  a  cry  from  man  to  God  becomes 
a  voice  from  God  to  man  assuring  the  adopted  children 
of  their  adoption  into  the  family  of  God. 

By  this  inbreathed  Spirit  God  gives  to  the  pardoned 
ones  a  new  and  divine  life,  brings  them  into  a  new 
spiritual  world,  and  endows  them  with  new  faculties 
corresponding  to  this  new  spiritual  environment.  This 
entrance  into  a  new  and  divine  life  is  appropriately 
called  a  New  Birth,  a  Birth  from  God. 

Man  is  thus  restored  to  his  normal  relation  to  God. 
At  his  creation,  God  breathed  into  man  His  own  life, 
thus  making  him  a  son  of  God.  This  sonship,  with 
all  its  privileges,  was  lost  by  sin.  But  the  lost  privileges 
have  now  been  restored  ;  and  man  rejoices  under  the 
smile  of  a  loving  Father  in  heaven. 

The  child  of  God  is  born,  not  to  the  immediate  posses- 
sion, but  to  the  hope,  of  a  great  inheritance.  Moreover 
he  is  in  a  state  of  probation,  not  at  the  end,  but  at  the 
beginning,  of  the  path  which  leads  to  life  eternal.  And 
the  way  is  beset  by  enemies  and  perils-  But  the  infinite 
cost  at  which  God  has  opened  for  man  an  entrance  into 
this  way  of  life  assures  us  that  whatever  is  needed  to 
guide  and  guard  His  children  along  it  will  be  given. 

It  remains  to  us  to  trace  this  path  ;  to  note  its  relation 
to  other  paths,  and  to  various  objects  in  man's  environ- 
ment, the  safeguards  by  which  it  is  protected,  and  the 
goal  towards  which  it  leads. 


PART  III 

THE    WA  V  OF  HOLINESS 


LECTURE    XII 

HOLINESS  IN   THE    OLD    TESTAMENT 

A  CONSPICUOUS  feature  of  the  Epistles  of  Paul 
and  of  the  Book  of  Revelation,  and  in  less 
degree  of  other  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  is  the 
use  of  the  word  holy  as  a  common  designation  of 
the  servants  of  Christ.  The  same  word  is  still  more 
frequently  used,  throughout  the  New  Testament,  as 
an  attribute  of  the  Spirit  of  God  given,  as  we  have 
seen,  to  His  adopted  sons  to  be  the  inward  guide  of 
their  life.  From  this  word,  therefore,  we  may  expect 
to  learn  something  about  the  New  Life  in  Christ. 

The  conspicuous  use  of  the  word  holy  and  its  cognates 
in  the  New  Testament  is  made  still  more  conspicuous 
by  the  rarity  in  classical  Greek  of  the  word  thus  ren- 
dered ;  and  by  its  use  in  the  Greek  version  of  the  Old 
Testament  as  a  constant  rendering  of  a  Hebrew  word 
found  there  very  frequently,  always  in  a  religious  sense. 
This  directs  us  at  once  to  the  Old  Testament  for  the  ideas 
conveyed  by  the  word  holy  in  the  New  Testament, 

93 


94  HOLINESS  [Part  III 

It  is  needful  to  say  that,  whereas  one  Greek  word  or 
family  of  words  is  almost  always  used  for  the  one 
Hebrew  word  now  before  us,  this  family  of  words  has  in 
the  English  Bible  two  sets  of  renderings,  viz.  /loly,  hallow, 
kolmess,  and  saint,  sanctify,  sanctification.  These  render- 
ings are  absolutely  equivalent,  as  are  the  words  righteous 
and  Just,  belief  and  faith.  They  may  be  transposed 
without  error.  A  saint  is  a  holy  person  :  to  Jialloiv  is  to 
sanctify  :  holiness  is  the  state  resulting  from  sanctification. 

These  words,  so  frequent  and  conspicuous  in  the  later 
books  of  the  Law,  and  more  or  less  throughout  the  Old 
Testament,  are  found  in  Genesis  only  once,  Gen.  ii.  3, 
in  a  passage  more  closely  related  to  Exodus  than  is 
any  other  part  of  Genesis.  This  suggests,  and  further 
research  will  prove,  that  the  idea  conveyed  by  the  word 
belongs  specifically  to  the  covenant  given  to  Israel 
through  Moses  as  distinguished  from  the  earlier  cove- 
nant made  with  Abraham.  To  the  books  containing 
the  Mosaic  Covenant  we  therefore  turn  in  our  search  for 
the  meaning  of  the  word  Jioly. 

In  the  solemn  opening  scene  of  that  covenant,  from 
the  lips  of  God,  in  a  connection  of  thought  wonderfully 
indicative  of  the  nature  of  the  covenant  He  had  come 
down  to  make,  we  hear  the  great  word  henceforth  to  be 
so  deeply  interwoven  into  the  religious  life  of  Israel  and 
of  mankind.  God's  words  to  Moses  from  the  bush,  as 
recorded  in  Exodus  iii.  5,  "  Draw  not  nigh  hither  .  .  . 
for  the  place  thou  art  standing  upon  is  ground  of 
holiness,''  introduce  a  covenant  of  which  one  great  feature 
was  to  be  Holiness  embodied  in  visible  places  and  things, 


Lect.    XII]  IN   THE   OLD    TESTAMENT  95 

a  holiness  which  made  the  holy  objects  partly  or  alto- 
gether inaccessible  to  man.  The  meaning  is  clear.  God 
wished  to  say  that  the  ground  stood  in  special  relation 
to  Himself ;  and  that,  because  it  was  God's  ground,  none 
could  tread  it  except  by  His  command. 

Very  instructive  are  the  words  of  Exodus  xiii.  2  : 
"  sanctify  for  Me  the  firstborn."  For  they  are  at  once 
explained  by  words  following,  "  it  is  Mine."  So  also  v.12  : 
"  thou  shalt  make  all  that  open  the  womb  pass  over  to 
Jehovah  ;  the  males  are  Jehovah's."  With  this  compare 
Num.  iii.  12,  13  :  "I  have  taken  the  Levites  from  among 
the  sons  of  Israel ;  and  the  Levites  shall  be  Mine.  For 
Mine  are  all  the  firstborn.  For  in  the  day  when  I  smote 
all  the  firstborn  in  Egypt  I  sanctified  for  Myself  every 
firstborn  in  Israel,  from  man  to  beast.  Mine  shall  they 
be."  Also  Num.  viii.  16,  17  :  *'  they  are  altogether  given 
to  Me  from  among  the  sons  of  Israel.  Instead  of  such 
as  open  every  womb,  even  every  firstborn  from  the 
sons  of  Israel,  I  have  taken  them  for  Myself"  And 
Deut.  XV.  19:  "every  firstborn  male  thou  shalt  sanctify 
for  Jehovah  thy  God  ;  thou  shalt  do  no  work  with  the 
firstborn  of  thine  ox,  nor  shear  the  firstborn  of  thy  sheep." 
These  passages  make  quite  clear  the  meaning  of  the 
word  sanctify.  The  firstborn  were  to  be  holy  in  the  sense 
that  they  were  henceforth  to  stand  in  special  relation  to 
God  as  His  property,  and  were  to  be  touched  by  man 
only  according  to  the  bidding,  and  to  work  out  the 
purposes,  of  God.  In  other  words,  they  were  not  man's 
but  God's. 

The  solemn  words   of  Exodus   xix.  6,   "ye  shall   be 


96  HOLINESS  [Part  ill 

to  Me  a  kingdom  of  priests,  a  holy  nation,"  are 
specially  important  as  illustrating  the  meaning  of  the 
word  holv,  because  of  their  contrast  with  Exodus 
xiii.  2.  They  are  explained  by  the  foregoing  words, 
"ye  shall  be  a  peculiar  treasure  to  Me  above  all 
people  :  for  all  the  earth  is  Mine."  Of  these  words, 
the  phrase  "  a  holy  nation "  is  evidently  a  summing 
up.  And,  by  the  words  "kirgdom  of  priests,"  the 
word  holy  is  linked  with  the  priestly  ritual  soon  to 
be  established.  Just  as  in  Egypt  God  had  already 
declared  that  the  firstborn  should  stand  in  special 
relation  to  Himself  as  His  property,  in  virtue  of  their 
deliverance  from  the  destroyer,  so  now  He  says  that 
the  entire  nation  shall  stand  in  a  similar,  though 
not  exactly  the  same,  relation  to  Himself,  in  virtue 
(Exodus  xix.  4)  of  its  deliverance  from  Egypt.  We 
have  here  an  anticipation  of  the  holiness  which  now 
belongs  to  every  member  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
The  same  wider  use  of  the  word  is  found  in  Lev. 
xi.  45,  "  I  am  Jehovah  that  brought  you  up  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  to  be  your  God  :  and  ye  shall  be  holy  ; 
for  holy  am  1."  So  also  ch.  xx.  26 :  "  ye  shall  be 
holy  for  Me ;  for  holy  am  I,  Jehovah  :  and  I  have 
separated  you  from  the  peoples,  that  ye  may  be  Mine." 
In  these  last  passages  we  have  subjective,  holiness ; 
about  which  I  shall  say  more  in  the  course  of  this 
lecture.  To  men  already  claimed  by  God  to  be  His 
own,  and  in  that  sense  already  holy,  God  declares  that 
they  s/iall  be  holy,  i.e.  that  they  shall  render  to  Him 
the  devotion   He  requires. 


Lect.  XII]  7^   THE  OLD   TESTAMENT  97 

Exodus  xix.  23,  "  set  bounds  around  the  mountain 
and  sanctify  it,"  develops  ch.  iii.  5.  By  putting  a 
fence,  Moses  was  to  mark  off  the  mountain  as  be- 
longing to  God,  and  therefore  not  to  be  trodden  by 
man  or  beast  except  at  His  bidding. 

And  now,  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  holy  mountain, 
rises  before  us  the  complicated  solemnity  of  the  Mosaic 
ritual :  and  of  that  ritual  every  vessel  and  every  rite 
bears  on  its  front,  in  broad  and  deep  characters,  the 
name  of  holiness. 

In  the  Decalogue  God  commands,  as  recorded  in 
Exodus  XX.  8,  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  Day  to 
sanctify  it;"  and  adds  in  v.  11,  "Jehovah  blessed  the 
Sabbath  Day  and  sanctified  it."  So  Gen.  ii.  3,  "  God 
blessed  the  seventh  day,  and  sanctified  it  : "  the  only 
place  in  Genesis  where  the  word  holy  or  sanctify  is 
found.  With  this  compare  Exodus  xxxi.  14  ;  also 
Isaiah  Iviii.  13,  "turn  away  thy  foot  from  the  Sabbath, 
from  doing  thy  pleasure  on  My  day  of  holiness."  The 
tabernacle  is  called  the  sanctuary  or  holy  place :  Exodus 
XXV.  8.  The  outer  chamber  bears  the  abstract  title, 
holiness :  the  inner  one  bears  the  superlative  name, 
holiness  of  holinesses,  conveniently  rendered,  holy  of 
holies :  ch.  xxvi.  33.  The  same  august  superlative  title 
is  given  in  ch.  xxix.  ly  to  the  brazen  altar ;  in 
ch.  XXX.  29  to  the  vessels  of  the  tabernacle ;  and  in 
Lev.  ii.  3  to  the  bodies  of  animals  offered  in  sacrifice. 
In  this  last  passage  it  is  explained  by  the  words,  "  the 
remnant  of  the  meat-offering  is  for  Aaron  and  for 
his   sons  :    it   is   holy   of  holies   from    the    burnings    of 


98  HOLINESS  [Part  III 

Jehovah."  In  other  words,  the  unburnt  parts  of  the 
sacrifices  were  God's  ;  and  were  therefore  to  be  given 
to  the  priests,  His  servants.  So  absolute  was  the 
hoHness  of  these  sacred  objects  that  God  said  three 
times,  in  Exodus  xxix.  2)7,  xxx.  29,  Lev.  vi.  18,  "  what- 
ever touches  the  altar  shall  be  holy : "  i.e.  by  that 
touch  it  ceases  to  be  man's  possession  and  must  hence- 
forth be  used  only  for  the  purposes  of  God.  Aaron 
and  his  clothes,  and  his  sons  and  their  clothes,  were 
holy:  Exodus  xxix.  21.  So  was  the  oil:  "Upon 
man's  flesh  it  shall  not  be  poured,  neither  shall  ye 
make  any  like  it  :  it  is  holy  and  shall  be  holy  to  you. 
Whoever  compounds  any  like  it,  and  whoever  puts 
any  of  it  upon  a  stranger,  shall  be  even  cut  off  from 
his  people:"  Exodus  xxx.  32.  Houses,  fields,  and 
cattle  were  made  holy  by  consecration  to  God  :  Lev. 
xxvii.  9,  14.  Their  holiness  is  thus  described  in  v.  21  : 
"  the  field  shall  be  holy  for  Jehovah,  like  the  field  of  the 
anathema  :  for  the  priest,  the  possession  of  it  shall  be." 
If  a  man  wanted  back  something  he  had  sanctified 
he  must  pay  for  it:  v.  15.  But  some  objects  were 
given  to  God  by  an  irrevocable  consecration,  and 
were  called  anathema  and  holy  of  holies :  vv.  28,  29. 
The  Nazarite  was  holy,  Num.  vi.  5,  8  :  and  his  sacrifice 
was  "holiness  for  the  priest,"  v.  20.  The  censers 
of  Korah  (Num.  xvi.  38)  were  holy ;  and  therefore 
could  not  be  put  to  common  use.  The  fourth  year's 
fruit  of  the  land  of  Canaan  was  holy  :  Lev.  xix.  24. 
Lastly,  God  says  to  Israel  in  Deut.  vii.  6  :  "  a  holy 
people     thou    art    for    Jehovah    thy    God :     thee    has 


Lect.  XII]  IN    THE   OLD    TESTAMENT  99 

Jehovah  thy  God  chosen  to  be  His,  for  a  people  of 
special  possession  beyond  all  the  peoples  which  are 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth." 

The  above  passages  from  the  Books  of  the  Law 
are  samples  of  hundreds  of  others.  In  all  of  them 
the  meaning  is  the  same,  and  is  clearly  marked. 
These  holy  objects  stand  in  special  relation  to  God 
as  His  property.  Consequently,  they  are  not  man's. 
They  have  no  human  owner  who  can  do  with  them 
as  he  pleases.  None  can  touch  them  except  at  the 
bidding  of  God.  Else,  as  we  learn  from  Mai.  iii.  8, 
they  will  be  guilty  of  robbing  God.  The  word  holy  is 
the  inviolable  Broad-Arrow  of  the  divine  King  of  Israel. 

The  sanctification  of  the  firstborn,  the  Sabbath, 
the  tabernacle  and  altar,  and  Aaron  and  his  sons,  is 
attributed  to  God  in  Num.  iii.  13,  Exodus  xx.  11, 
xxix.  44.  For,  the  devotion  of  these  objects  to  God 
originated,  not  in  man  but  in  God.  And,  apart  from 
anything  man  does  or  fails  to  dcJ,  God's  claim  placed 
them  in  a  new  and  peculiar  and  solemn  relation  to 
Himself.  Man  might  profane  the  Sabbath  ;  but  it  still 
remained  a  holy  day,  a  day  which  God  had'  claimed  for 
Himself.  This  relation  to  God,  created  by  God's  claim 
and  incapable  of  being  destroyed  by  man's  unfaith- 
fulness, may  be  called  OBJECTIVE  HOLINESS.  It  is 
the  most  common  use  of  the  word.  In  this  sense  God 
sanctified  these  objects  for  Himself 

In  Exodus  xix.  14,  xxviii.  41,  xxix.  i,xl.  9-13,  Moses, 
as  the  minister  through  whom  was  brought  about  the 
devotion  to  God  of  these  objects  claimed   by   Him,  is 


loo  HOLINESS  [Part  III 

said  to  have  sanctified  Mount  Sinai,  Aaron,  and  the 
tabernacle  and  its  vessels.  Similarly,  in  Exodus  xix.  22, 
Lev.  xi.  44,  xxvii.  14,  the  priests  and  the  people  are  said 
to  sanctify  themselves  and  some  of  their  possessions. 
They  did  this,  either  by  formally  placing  themselves 
or  their  goods  at  the  disposal  of  God,  or  by  separating 
themselves  from  whatever  was  inconsistent  with  the 
service  of  God.  This  may  be  called  SUBJECTIVE 
HOLINESS.  It  is  man's  surrender  to  God  of  that 
which  God  has  claimed. 

This  distinction  of  objective  and  subjective  holiness 
is  of  the  utmost  importance.  The  former  traces 
holiness  to  its  source,  viz.  God  :  the  latter  points  to  the 
obligation  laid  on  man  by  this  claim  of  God.  The 
two  senses  are  often  found  together :  e.g.  (Exodus 
XX.  11)  God  sanctified  the  Sabbath;  therefore  {v.  8) 
man  is  bidden  to  sanctify  it. 

Light  is  shed  upon  the  radical  meaning  of  the  word 
holy  by  Gen.  xxxvii*.  21  and  Deut.  xxiii.  17,  where 
a  cognate  word  is  used  to  designate  a  prolligate  woman. 
This  recalls  the  "  sacred  slave-girls  "  at  Corinth  "  whom 
both  men  and  women  presented  to  the  goddess  :  "  see 
Strabo,  bk.  viii.  378.  The  essential  idea  of  holiness 
is  found  here,  though  in  a  peculiar  form.  Devotion  to 
an  impure  deity  creates  impurity  in  the  devotee  ; 
whereas  devotion  to  God  implies  separation  from  all 
impurity. 

Another  trace  of  the  word  is  found  in  the  name 
Kadesh,  in  Gen.  xiv.  7,  xvi.  14,  xx.  i,  Num.  xiii.  26, 
Joshua  XX.  7,  I  Chron.  vi.  72,  etc.     It  suggests  that  the 


Lect.  XII]  IN  THE   OLD    TESTAMENT  ioi 

towns  which  bore  this  name  were  specially  devoted  t^ 
the  service  of  some  deity. 

Throughout  the  Old  Testament,  the  word  holy  and 
its  cognates  are  found  in  the  meaning  expounded  above. 
The  words  of  Joshua  iii.  5,  "sanctify  yourselves:  for 
to-morrow  Jehovah  will  do  wonders  among  you,"  recall 
Exodus  xix.  10:  those  of  Joshua  v.  15,  "the  place 
whereon  thou  art  standing  is  holiness,"  recall  Exodus 
iii.  5.  Notice  Joshua  vi.  19:  "all  the  silver  and  gold  is 
holiness  to  Jehovah  :  into  the  treasury  of  Jehovah  it 
shall  come."  We  read  in  ch.  xx.  7  that  "  they  sanctified 
Kadesh  in  Galilee "  to  be  a  city  of  refuge  :  for  these 
stood  in  special  relation  to  God.  Micah's  mother  said, 
in  Judges  xvii.  3,  "  I  have  altogether  sanctified  the  silver 
for  Jehovah  : "  for  she  supposed  that  by  using  the  money 
to  make  an  image  she  was  devoting  it  to  His  service. 

In  the  Book  of  Psalms,  the  word  sanctify  is  never 
found  :  a  clear  proof  that  it  was  not  equivalent  \.o  punfy, 
an  idea  which  not  unfrequently  occurs.  It  is  found  only 
once  in  the  other  poetical  books,  in  Job  i.  5  ;  and  then 
in  a  ritual  sense.  In  Psalm  Ixxxix.  5,  7,  Job  v.  i,  xv.  15, 
the  word  holy  or  saint  denotes  the  angels.  And  appro- 
priately so  :  for  our  chief  thought  about  them  is  that 
they  stand  in  special  relation  to  God,  and  are  doing  His 
work.  "Aaron,  Jehovah's  holy  one,"  in  Psalm  cvi.  16, 
recalls  the  ritual  phraseology  of  the  Law.  Very  rarely 
in  the  poetical  books  are  good  men  called  holy  :  e.g. 
Psalm  xvi.  3,  "  to  the  holy  ones  which  are  in  the  earth  ; " 
Psalm  xxxiv.  9,  "fear  Jehovah,  ye  His  holy  ones." 
These  passages  w^ere  prompted  by  a  consciousness  that 


HOLINESS  [Part  III 


ihc  good  man  stands  in  a  special  relation  to  God,  as 
God's  own  ;  and  are  thus  an  approach  to  the  New 
Testament  use  of  the  word.  This  use  was  rare  because 
as  yet  holiness  was  revealed  only  in  symbolic  outline. 
The  inward  reality  underlying  the  symbolic  form  could 
not  be  clearly  seen  until  the  appearance  of  Him  who 
was  a  perfect  embodiment  in  flesh  and  blood  of  what 
the  symbols  dimly  foreshadowed. 

In  the  later  books  of  the  Old  Testament  traces  of  this 
moral  sense  are  occasionally  found.  The  lady  of  Shunem 
observed  that  Elisha  stood  specially  near  to  God,  and 
she  spoke  of  him  in  2  Kings  iv.  9  as  a  "  man  of  God,  a 
holy  man."  In  prophetic  vision,  Isaiah  sees  the  day 
(Isaiah  iv.  3)  when  "  all  that  are  left  in  Jerusalem  shall 
be  called  holy."  So  ch.  Ixii.  12  :  "  they  shall  call  them 
a  people  of  holiness,  redeemed  of  Jehovah."  In  the 
Book  of  Daniel,  e.g.  chs.  vii.  18,  22,  25,  27,  the  word  holy 
is  a  frequent  designation  of  the  future  people  of  God. 

In  the  Books  of  Chronicles  and  Nehemiah  the  words 
holy  and  sanctify  are  common,  always  in  a  ritual  sense. 
So  2  Chron.  xxiii.  6  :  "  let  none  come  into  the  house  of 
Jehovah  except  the  priests.  They  shall  come  in  :  for 
they  are  holy." 

A  foreshadowing  of  the  universal  consecration  an- 
nounced in  the  Gospel  of  Christ  is  found  in  Zech.  xiv. 
20,  21  :  "  In  that  day  there  shall  be  upon  the  bells  of 
the  horses  Holiness  for  Jehovah  :  and  the  pots  in  the 
house  of  Jehovah  shall  be  like  the  bowls  before  the 
altar.  And  every  pot  in  Jerusalem  and  in  Judah  shall 
be   holiness    for    Jehovah  of  Hosts  :  and  all  those  who 


Lf.ct.  XII]  IN   THE   OLD    TESTAMENT  103 

sacrifice  shall  come  and  take  of  them  and  cook  in  them. 
And  no  Canaanite  shall  be  any  more  in  the  house  of 
Jehovah  of  Hosts,  in  that  day."  We  have  here  under 
levitical  forms  important  Gospel  truth. 

The  Holiness  of  God  will  be  discussed  in  Lect  XXXH. 

The  above  quotations  are  samples  of  the  use  of  a  word 
found  in  the  Old  Testament  more  than  eight  hundred 
times.  Its  frequency,  the  variety  of  the  objects  to  v/hich 
it  is  applied,  and  the  definiteness  of  the  one  idea  which 
in  all  these  objects  the  word  conveys,  make  its  meaning 
quite  clear  and  beyond  doubt.  All  the  various  holy 
objects,  rational  or  irrational,  stand  in  special  relation  to 
God  as  His  possession  ;  and  therefore  must  not  be  used 
or  touched  by  man  except  at  God's  bidding  and  to  do 
His  work.  He  has  claimed  them  for  His  own  ;  and  His 
claim  lays  upon  man  an  obligation  to  devote  them  to 
His  service.  This  definite  idea  is  present,  in  various 
forms,  wherever  in  the  Old  Testament  the  word  holy  is 
found. 

As  already  stated,  this  conspicuous  Hebrew  word  is 
in  the  Septuagint  Version  almost  always  translated  by 
one  Greek  word.  This  one  word  is,  however,  not  its 
most  exact  Greek  equivalent.  The  not  uncommon  word 
fepo?  denotes  that  which  is  consecrated  to  a  deity  :  an 
idea  not  unfamiliar  to  Greek  thought.  Strange  to  say, 
this  at  first  sight  appropriate  rendering  is,  with  one 
slight  exception,  never  used  by  the  Greek  translators. 
As  a  rendering  of  the  adjective  holy,  it  never  occurs. 
And    only   once    is    the    substantive    lepov   used    in    its 


104  Holiness  Part  hi 

frequent  New  Testament  sense  of  sanctuary,  viz.  in  that 
one  strange  passage  (Ezek.  xxviii.  i8)  in  which  we  read  of 
the  sanctuary,  not  of  Jehovah,  but  of  Tyre.  The  reason 
is  not  far  to  seek.  'Je/069  had  been  polluted  by  contact 
with  the  corruptions  of  idolatry  ;  and  was  therefore 
unfit  for  service  in  the  temple  of  God.  Of  this  we  have 
an  example  in  the  sacred  prostitutes  of  Corinth.  It  is 
true  that  in  the  Hebrew  language  a  similar  corruption 
had  defiled  one  member  of  this  family  of  sacred  words. 
See,  as  noted  on  p.  100,  Gen.  xxxviii.  21,  Deut  xxiii.  17. 
But  the  defiled  member  was  rigidly  excluded  from  the 
service  of  God  :  and  the  defilement  went  no  further. 
Whereas,  in  Greek,  the  defilement  reached  and  saturated 
every  member.  With  the  Hebrew  word,  as  a  result  of 
its  consecration  to  the  service  of  Jehovah  and  in  spite 
of  the  occasional  profanation  of  sacred  things,  were 
associated  ideas  of  purity  and  goodness.  With  the 
Greek  word,  in  consequence  of  the  fearful  debasement 
of  idolatry,  were  as.sociated  conceptions  the  vilest  and 
worst.  Another  word  must  therefore  be  found  to  carry 
to  the  nations  of  the  West,  in  its  purity,  the  Hebrew 
conception  of  holiness. 

This  honourable  ofifice  was  conferred  on  the  compara- 
tively rare  word,  ayio^.  Its  rarity  was  a  recommendation. 
For,  that  it  had  so  few  associations  of  its  own,  made  it 
the  fitter  to  take  up  the  meaning  and  appropriate  to 
itself  the  associations  of  the  Hebrew  word.  And  its 
associations,  though  few,  were  suitable.  In  classical 
Greek  it  is  never  found  as  a  predicate  of  gods  or  men  ; 
and   was  therefore  free  from  the  ideas  of  imperfection 


Lect.  Xll]  IN    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT  105 

and  sin  which  belonged  in  the  minds  of  idolaters  to  both 
gods  and  men.  It  is  frequently  used  by  Herodotus,  and 
occasionally  by  other  writers,  to  describe  tcmp'es  of 
special  sacredness  ;  and  seems  to  denote  the  reverence 
which  their  connection  with  the  deity,  lepov,  gave  them 
a  right  to  claim.  It  is  probably  akin  to  a^ofiat,  used  by 
Homer  {Iliad,  bk.  i.  21,  etc.)  to  denote  reverence  for 
the  gods  and  for  parents.  It  was  evidently  a  nobler  and 
purer  word  than  /6/069.  The  difference  arose  from  the 
fact  that,  owing  to  the  degradation  of  idolatry,  there 
were  objects  supposed  to  stand  in  close  relation  to 
the  gods,  which  had  no  claim  whatever  to  man's  real 
reverence.  A  very  good  instance  of  the  distinction  is 
quoted  in  Cremer's  valuable  New  Testament  Lexicon, 
from  Plutarch,  Conviv.  5.  682,  C  :  "  Amorous  and  un- 
tamed men  are  unable  to  abstain  even  from  the  most 
holy  bodies ; "  which  Cremer  properly  contrasts  with 
the  "  sacred  "  bodies  of  the  "  sacred  slaves,"  in  Strabo, 
bk.  vi.  272. 

Such  being  the  associations  of  the  words,  the  Seventy 
Translators,  moved  by  a  delicate  appreciation  of  the 
difference  between  the  gods  of  heathendom  and  the  One 
God  of  Israel,  rejected  /e/36?,  which  was  already  occupied 
by  conceptions  partly  impure,  and  chose  ar^io^,  which 
was  in  part  unoccupied  and  in  part  occupied  by  a  pure 
conception,  namely  reverence,  to  receive  and  bear  to 
the  nations  of  Europe  the  definite  Old  Testament 
conception  of  holiness.  To  represent  the  modifications 
of  the  Hebrew  word,  the  Seventy  thrust  aside  the  exist- 
ing though  rare  derivatives  of  a'^o^,  and  derived  directly 


io6  HOLINESS  [Part  III 

from  ci'yiof;  a  family  of  words  of  which  every  member 
was  altogether  new  in  Greek  literature. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  Judges  xvi.  17,  for  the 
words  "  Nazarite  of  God,"  which  the  Alexandrian  MS. 
reproduces,  the  Vatican  MS.  gives  ^7^09  Geov.  And 
rightly  so.  For  the  Nazarite  was  holy.  And  this 
objective  holiness,  Samson's  deep  sin  could  not 
obliterate. 

In  the  Apocrypha,  the  use  of  a'yLo^  and  its  cognates 
corresponds  exactly  to  its  use  in  the  Septuagint,  i.e.  to 
the  use  of  the  Hebrew  word.  The  purely  ritual  use  is 
found  in  Judith  xi.  13  :  "The  firstfruits  of  the  corn,  and 
the  tithes  of  the  wine  and  the  oil,  which  they  kept, 
having  sanctified  them  for  the  priests  who  present  them- 
selves before  the  face  of  our  God."  So  i  Mace.  x.  39  : 
"  for  the  holy  things  which  are  at  Jerusalem,  for  the 
expenses  suitable  for  the  holy  things."  Compare  Sirach 
xlv.  4,  "in  his  faith  and  meekness  He  sanctified  (Moses), 
He  chose  him  out  from  all  flesh  ; "  and  v.  6,  "  He  exalted 
Aaron  to  be  holy  like  him."  In  v.  10,  we  have  Aaron's 
"holy  robe."  So  Sirach  xlix.  12:  "a  people  holy  for 
the  Lord,  prepared  for  glory  of  eternity."  From  the 
days  of  the  week,  God  "  exalted  and  sanctified  the 
Sabbath  :  "  Sirach  xxxiii.  (xxxvi.)  9.  God  is  "  the  Holy 
One  from  heaven,"  who  redeemed  Judah  from  the  host 
of  Sennacherib  :  Sirach  xlviii.  20.  In  2  Mace.  viii.  23 
we  read  of  "  the  holy  book."  In  2  Mace.  v.  1 5,  the  word 
lepov  appears,  in  the  sense  of  sanctuary :  "  he  dared  to 
enter  into  the  most  holy  (ayLcoraror)  sanctuary  of  all 
the  earth."     This  use  was  now  safe :  for  the  conception 


Lect.  XII]  IN   THE   OLD    TESTAMENT  107 

of  holiness  was  already  indissolubly  linked  to  the  word 
07^09. 

In  the  Apocrypha,  as  in  the  Septuagint  Version,  the 
word  a7to?  simply  takes  up  the  ideas  associated  with 
the  Hebrew  word  ;  and  passes  them  on  unchanged, 
as  an  almost  lifeless  body,  awaiting  the  new  life  soon 
to  be  breathed  into  it  by  a  new  and  more  glorious 
revelation. 


LECTURE   XIII 

THE  HOLINESS   OF  CHRIST 

THE  writers  of  the  New  Testament  perpetuate  and 
develop  the  Old  Testament  conception  of  holiness. 
It  was  still  remembered,  as  we  read  in  Luke  ii.  23,  that  God 
had  commanded  that  every  firstborn  male  "  shall  be  called, 
Holy  to  the  Lord."  The  emphatic  teaching  of  Exodus 
xxix.  37,  etc.,  that  "  whatever  touches  the  altar  shall  be 
holy  "is  reproduced  in  Matt,  xxiii.  17,  19,  where  Christ 
appeals  in  argument  to  the  truth  that  already  "  the  temple 
has  sanctified  the  gold  "  used  in  its  construction,  and  that 
day  by  day  "  the  altar  sanctifies  the  gift "  laid  upon  it. 
(Note  here  the  contrast  of  the  tenses.)  As  in  the  Greek 
(Lxx.)  version  of  Neh.  xi.  i,  so  in  Matt.  iv.  5,  xxvii.  53, 
Jerusalem  is  called  "  the  holy  city  : "  for  it  stood  in 
special  relation  to  God.  The  words  of  Stephen  recorded 
in  Acts  viii.  33,  "  the  ground  on  which  thou  standest  is 
holy  ground,"  prove  that  the  opening  words  of  the 
revelation  to  Moses  (Exodus  iii.  5)  still  lived  in  the 
memory  of  the  people.  In  Matt.  xxiv.  15,  Acts  vi.  13, 
xxi.  28,  the  temple  is  still  called  "  the  holy  place."  The 
word  holy,  used  in  Job  v.  i,  xv.  15,  Dan.  viii.  13,  to 
designate  the  angels,  as  persons  who  occupy  a  special 

108 


Lect.  XIII]  THE   HOLINESS   OF  CHRIST  109 

relation  to  God  and  do  His  bidding,  is  applied  to  them 
as  an  epithet  in  Luke  ix.  26,  Acts  x.  22.  Similarly, 
though  in  lower  degree,  as  in  Jer.  i.  5  so  in  Luke  i.  70, 
Acts  iii.  21,  it  is  applied  to  the  prophets.  So  Mark 
vi.  20,  where  we  read  that  "  Herod  feared  John,  knowing 
him  to  be  a  righteous  and  holy  man  : "  i.e.  one  whose 
conduct  agreed  with  the  Law  and  w^ho  stood  in  special 
relation  to  God. 

Very  conspicuous,  especially  in  the  Third  Gospel  and 
the  Book  of  Acts,  is  the  term  "  Holy  Spirit,"  already 
used  in  the  Septuagint  as  a  rendering  of  the  phrase 
"  Spirit  of  Holiness"  in  Psalm  li.  ii,  Isa.  Ixiii.  10.  The 
Spirit  of  God  claims  the  epithet  as  being  in  a  very 
special  manner  the  Source  of  an  influence  of  which  God 
is  the  one  and  only  aim.  All  other  influences  tend  away 
from  God.  He  is,  therefore,  in  a  sense  shared  by  no 
other  inward  motive  principle,  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  holiness  of  God,  solemnly  asserted  in  Lev.  xi.  45, 
xix.  2,  XX.  26,  xxi.  8,  and  frequently  in  the  Book  of 
Isaiah  under  the  title  "  The  Holy  One  of  Israel,"  is 
asserted  or  implied  in  John  xvii.  11,  Heb.  xii.  10,  i  Pet. 
i.  15,  16  (from  Lev.  xi.  44),  Rev.  iv.  8  (a  repetition  of 
Isa.  vi.  3),  and  Rev.  vi.  10.  It  will  be  further  discussed  in 
Lect.  XXXII. 

So  far  the  conception  of  holiness  has  advanced  little 
beyond  the  development  attained  in  the  Old  Testament. 
The  greater  frequency  of  holiness  as  an  attribute  of  the 
Spirit  is,  however,  a  mark  of  that  better  Covenant  of 
which  the  indwelling  and  sanctifying  presence  of  the 
Spirit  is  so  conspicuous    and  glorious  a  feature.     And 


THE  HOLINESS  [Part  III 


the  similarity  of  the  use  of  the  word  in  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testaments  is  a  proof  how  fully  the  Old  Testament 
conception  of  holiness  lived  on  in  the  minds  of  the 
people. 

In  the  life  and  character  of  the  Incarnate  Son  of  God 
we  see  the  full  development  and  realisation  of  the 
Biblical  conception  of  holiness.  Before  His  birth,  as  we 
read  in  Luke.  i.  35,  He  was  announced  by  the  angel  as 
"  the  Holy  Thing  :  "  the  neuter  form  leaving  out  of  sight 
all  except  that  He  would  be  an  embodiment  of  holiness. 
He  was  acknowledged,  both  (John  vi.  69)  by  His 
disciples  and  (Mark  i.  24)  by  evil  spirits,  to  be  "  the 
Holy  One  of  God."  Himself  declared,  as  recorded  in 
John  X.  36,  xvii.  19,  that  the  Father  had  sanctified  Him 
and  sent  Him  into  the  world,  and  that  day  by  day  He 
sanctifies  Himself  The  ascended  Saviour  is  spoken  of 
in  Acts  iii.  14,  iv.  27,  as  "  the  Holy  and  Just  One,"  and 
"  the  Holy  Servant  of  God."  Paul  teaches  in  Rom.  i.  4 
that  He  "  was  marked  out  as  Son  of  God  according  to 
a  Spirit  of  Holiness."  He  is  probably  "  the  Holy  One  in 
I  John  ii.  20 ;  and  in  Rev.  iii.  7  He  is  called  "  Holy  and 
true." 

Since  Holiness  is  thus  solemnly  predicated  of  the  Son 
of  God,  we  expect  to  find  in  Him  a  fully  developed 
impersonation  of  the  idea  imperfectly  shadowed  forth 
in  the  Mosaic  ritual.  We  expect  to  find  Him  standing 
in  a  special  relation  to  God,  and  living  a  life  of  which 
the  one  and  only  aim  is  to  advance  the  purposes  of  God. 
Our  expectation  is  fulfilled.     The  Son  of  God  declared, 


Lect.  XIII]  OF  CHRIST 


as  recorded  in  John  iv.  34,  ''  It  is  My  meat  to  do  the 
will  of  Him  that  sent  Me  and  to  complete  His  work  ;" 
in  ch.  V.  19,  "the  Son  cannot  do  anything  of  Himself, 
except  what  He  sees  the  Father  doing  ;  "  in  v.  30,  "  I 
seek  not  My  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent 
Me  ;  "  in  ch.  vi.  38,  "  because  I  have  come  down  from 
heaven,  not  in  order  that  I  may  do  My  own  will,  but 
the  will  of  Him  that  sent  Me  ;  "  and  in  ch.  xvii.  4,  "  I 
have  glorified  Thee  on  the  earth,  having  finished  the 
work  which  Thou  gavest  Me  to  do."  Similarly,  we  read 
in  Rom.  vi.  10,  "  the  life  which  He  lives,  He  lives  for 
God;"  inch.  xv.  3,  "Christ  did  not  please  Himself;" 
in  I  Cor.  iii.  23,  "  Ye  are  Christ's  and  Christ  is  God's  ;  " 
in  Heb.  iii.  2,  "  being  faithful  to  Him  that  made  Him  ;" 
and  in  ch.  ix.  14,  "  He  offered  Himself  spotless  to  God." 
In  Jesus  we  see  a  life,  lived  in  human  flesh  and  blood, 
of  which  God  was  the  one  and  only  aim.  All  the 
powers,  time,  and  opportunities  of  Jesus  were  used,  not 
to  gratify  selfj  but  to  work  out  the  Father's  purposes. 
And  this  devotion  to  the  Father  was  rational.  The 
human  intelligence  of  the  man  Jesus,  mysteriously  in- 
formed by  the  Divine  intelligence  of  the  Eternal  Son  of 
God,  comprehended  and  fully  approved  and  appropriated 
the  Father's  eternal  purpose  to  save  mankind  through 
the  death  of  His  Son  :  and  of  this  intelligent  approval 
every  word  and  act  of  the  human  life  of  Jesus  was  a 
perfect  outworking.  And  in  this  sense,  in  a  degree 
infinitely  surpassing  whatever  had  been  known  before, 
the  incarnate  Son  of  God  was  holy.     Consequently,  as 

we  read  in  John  ii.  21,  Heb.  x.  10,  iii.  i,  His  body  was  a 
9 


THE  HOLINESS  [Part  III 


"  temple  "  and  a  "  sacrifice,"  and  himself  a  "  High  priest." 
Whatever  holiness  belonged  to  the  ritual  and  priesthood 
of  the  Old  Covenant,  belonged  in  infinitely  higher  degree 
to  Him  and  to  His  life  :  whatever  in  them  was  imperfect 
found  in  Him  its  full  realisation. 

We  notice  further  that,  under  the  Old  Covenant,  the 
holy  men  were  separated  by  their  holiness  from  the 
common  work  of  common  life.  This  was  very  con- 
spicuous in  the  last  of  the  prophets,  in  that  "  righteous  and 
holy  man  "  (Mark  vi.  20)  in  whose  person  and  teaching 
was  summed  up  whatever  had  been  revealed  under  the 
earlier  dispensation.  The  contrast  of  John  and  Jesus  is 
the  contrast  of  holiness  as  revealed  in  the  Law,  and  as 
revealed  in  the  Gospel.  John  lived  in  the  wilderness, 
away  from  the  dwellings  of  men,  and  ate  strange  food. 
Jesus  lived  a  common  life,  toiling  at  a  trade,  enjoying 
social  intercourse,  partaking  of  human  hospitality,  and 
eating  the  food  set  before  Him.  This  teaches  plainly 
that  holiness  in  its  highest  degree,  i.e.  the  highest  con- 
ceivable devotion  to  God  and  to  the  advancement  of 
His  kingdom,  does  not  imply  separation  from  the  com- 
mon business  of  life.  And  when  we  see  Jesus  using  the 
opportunities  afforded  Him  by  this  common  intercourse 
with  men  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  we  learn  that  even  the  common  things  of  daily 
life  may  be  laid  on  the  altar  of  God  as  a  means  of  doing 
His  holy  work. 

We  saw  that  under  the  Old  Covenant  devotion  to 
God  implied  separation  from  whatever,  in  .symbol  or 
reality,  was  opposed  to  God.     Now,  all  sin  is  opposed 


Lect.  XIII]  OF  CHRIST  113 


to  God  :  for  sin,  in  whatever  form  or  degree,  tends  to 
misery  and  destruction,  whereas  God's  purpose  is  h'fe 
and  happiness.  Consequently,  the  hoHness  of  Jesus 
involves  His  absolute  separation  from  all  sin.  So 
2  Cor.  V.  21  :  "who  knew  no  sin." 

Again,  the  only  purpose  of  God  which  we  can  con- 
ceive as  having  a  practical  bearing  on  us  is  God's 
purpose  to  save  men  from  sin  and  death,  and  to  set  up 
the  eternal  kingdom  of  which  Christ  will  be  king  and 
His  people  citizens.  Consequently,  to  us,  devotion  to 
God  implies  devotion  to  this  one  purpose.  And  this 
one  great  divine  purpose  is  inseparably  linked  with 
our  conception  of  holiness.  Therefore,  since  to  realise 
this  purpose  God  sent  His  Son  into  the  world,  our 
Lord  spoke  appropriately,  as  recorded  in  John  x.  36, 
of  Himself  as  "  Him  whom  the  Father  sanctified  and 
sent  into  the  world."  And,  in  reference  to  His  own  daily 
devotion  of  Himself  to  this  enterprise.  He  said,  as  we 
read  in  John  xvii.  19,  "  on  their  behalf  I  sanctify  Myself 
in  order  that  also  they  may  be  sanctified." 

Thus,  from  the  great  Author  and  Archetype  of  renewed 
humanity,  we  have  obtained  a  complete  conception 
of  holiness.  We  have  seen  a  man,  though  God  yet 
perfect  Man,  whose  life  was  a  constant  and  perfect 
realisation  of  one  purpose,  a  purpose  to  use  all  His 
powers,  time,  and  opportunities,  to  advance  the  kingdom 
of  God :  and  we  have  seen  that  this  purpose  was  a 
result  of  an  intelligent  comprehension,  and  full  approval, 
of  the  Father's  purpose.  In  virtue  of  this  intelligent, 
hearty,  and    continued    appropriation    of   the    Father's 


114  THE  HOLINESS   OF  CHRIST  [Part  III 

purpose,  and  in  virtue  of  its  realisation  in  all  the  details 
of  His  own  life  on  earth,  the  Incarnate  Son  was  appro- 
priately called  "  the  Holy  One  of  God." 

In  my  earlier  volume  {Through  Christ  to  God,  Lectures 
XXIX.  and  XXXI.)  I  endeavoured  to  prove  that  the 
life  of  Christ  on  earth  is  a  perfect  and  full  outflow  and 
manifestation,  in  human  flesh  and  blood,  of  the  nature  of 
the  eternal  Son  of  God.  The  teaching  of  the  New 
Testament  implies,  and  with  this  agrees  the  historic 
faith  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  that  with  the  Father,  yet 
personally  distinct  from  Him,  is  Another  who  shares,  by 
eternal  derivation  from  the  Father,  all  the  attributes  of 
God.  And  we  saw  that  the  New  Testament  teaches  that 
the  divine  life  thus  received  flows  back,  with  full  volume, 
in  unreserved  devotion  to  the  Father  ;  the  eternal  Stream 
to  its  eternal  Source.  Of  this  eternal  devotion  of  the 
Son  to  the  Father,  the  lifelong  consecration  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  the  work  of  God  was  a  human  historic  counter- 
part. And  we  have  just  seen  that  this  self-consecration 
of  Christ  to  God  is  a  perfect  realisation,  in  actual  human 
life,  of  the  holiness  symbolically  set  forth  in  the  ritual  of 
the  Old  Covenant. 

Thus  is  the  Biblical  conception  of  holiness,  set  forth 
in  outline  in  the  Mosaic  ritual  and  afterwards  fully 
realised  in  the  human  life  of  Christ  on  earth,  traced  to 
its  ultimate  source  in  the  eternal  nature  of  God,  to  the 
eternal  devotion  of  the  Son  to  the  Father.  In  the 
Lectures  following  we  shall  see  that  this  eternal  nature 
of  God  is,  through  the  Incarnate  Son,  the  eternal  Arche- 
type of  whatever  is  good  in  man. 


LECTURE   XIV 

THE  HOLINESS   OF   THE  SERVANTS  OF  CHRIST 

IN  Rom.  i.  7,  i  Cor.  i.  2,  Eph.  i.  i,  Phil.  i.  i,  Gal.  i.  i, 
Paul  addresses  his  readers  as  "  called  to  be  saints," 
or  "  called  saints."  The  latter  rendering  is  better.  For 
frequently  elsewhere  he  speaks  of  them  as  actually 
saints.  So  Rom.  viii.  27,  "  the  Spirit  makes  intercession 
on  behalf  of  saints;"  ch.  xii.  13,  "the  necessities  of 
the  saints  ;  "  ch.  xv.  25,  "  ministering  to  the  saints,"  i.e. 
performing  friendly  service  for  them  ;  v.  26,  "  the  poor 
ones  of  the  saints  in  Jerusalem;"  and  v.  32,  "accept- 
able to  the  saints."  In  ch,  xvi.  2,  he  asks  for  Phoebe 
a  reception  "  worthy  cf  the  saints."  The  same  use  of 
the  word  is  found  in  i  Cor.  vi.  i,  xiv.  33,  xvi.  I,  15, 
2  Cor.  i.  I,  viii.  4,  ix.  i,  12,  xiii.  13,  and  elsewhere 
frequently.  Evidently,  by  the  phrase  in  Rom.  i.  7,  etc., 
Paul  means  that  just  as  he  had  himself  received  a 
summons  from  God  which  made  him  an  apostle,  "  a 
called  apostle,"  so  his  readers  had  received  a  divine 
summons  which  made  them  saints.  So  in  i  Cor.  i.  2  he 
addresses  them  first  as  "  sanctified  in  Christ  "  and  then 
as  "  called  saints." 

The  same  use  of  the  word  holy  or  samt  as  a  designation 


1 6  The  holiness  [Part  ill 


of  Church  members  generally  is  found  also  in  Heb. 
iii.  I,  "holy  brethen  ;"  in  ch.  vi.  lO,  "ministering  to  the 
saints  ;  "  in  ch.  xiii.  24,  "  greet  all  the  saints ;  "  and  in 
Jude  3,  "the  faith  committed  to  the  saints."  So  Acts 
ix.  13,  "how  many  evil  things  he  has  done  to  Thy 
saints:"  v.  32,  "the  saints  inhabiting  Lydda  ;  "  v.  41, 
"  the  saints  and  the  widows;"  ch.  xxvi.  10,  "many  of 
the  saints."  The  same  word  in  the  same  sense  is 
common  in  the  Book  of  Revelation  :  so  "  the  prayers  of 
the  saints  "  in  chs.  v.  8,  viii.  3,4;  "  the  blood  of  the 
saints,"  and  "  of  saints  and  prophets  "  in  chs.  xvii.  6,  xvi.  6, 
xviii.  24  ;  the  "  faith  "  and  "  endurance  of  the  saints  "  in 
chs.  xiii.  10,  xiv.  12  ;  and  in  ch.  xx.  9,  "  the  camp  of  the 
saints;"  also  chs.  xi.  18,  xiii.  7.  In  all  these  places 
the  word  saint  is  evidently  an  ordinary  designation  of 
the  professed  servants  of  Christ. 

That  this  use  of  the  word  saint  is  not  found  in  the 
Gospels,  will  excite  no  surprise.  For  not  till  the  descent 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  at  Pentecost  did  the  sacred  race  begin 
to  be. 

We  now  seek  for  the  light  which  this  use  of  the  word 
holy  or  saint  sheds  upon  the  new  life  of  the  adopted  sons 
of  God. 

It  is  manifestly  a  new  religious  use  of  a  word  already 
very  familiar  in  a  religious  sense.  The  Jews  at  Jerusalem 
had  ever  before  their  eyes  the  holy  objects  of  the  temple 
ritual.  And  those  scattered  in  other  lands  heard  read 
in  their  synagogues  week  by  week  the  ancient  Scriptures 
in  which  the  word  holy  occurs  very  frequently  to  denote 
or   describe    persons   and    things,  always    in    the    same 


Lect.  XIVJ         OF   THE  SERVANTS   OF  CHRIST  117 


definite  religious  sense.  This  use  and  sense  of  the  word 
are  indisputably  found  in  certain  passages  of  the  New 
Testament  quoted  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  Lecture. 
The  earliest  readers  of  the  New  Testament  could  not 
but  give  to  the  word  when  used  to  describe  the  servants  of 
Christ  a  meaning  derived  from  its  ordinary  and  familiar 
use.  Certainly  the  holy  persons  of  the  New  Covenant 
must  stand  in  close  relation  to  those  of  the  Old. 

A  conspicuous  difference  between  the  two  Covenants 
at  once  attracts  attention.  In  the  Old  Covenant  the 
word  holy  was  reserved  for  the  priests,  as  distinguished 
from  other  Israelites.  In  Num.  xvi.  3,  Korah  complains 
that  "  all  the  congregation  are  holy,  every  one  of  them  ; 
and  Jehovah  is  among  them."  Moses  replies,  in  v.  5, 
that  "Jehovah  will  show  who  are  His  and  who  are 
holy,  even  him  whom  He  will  choose."  In  v.  10,  he 
explains  these  words  as  referring  to  "the  priesthood." 
So  2  Chron.  xxiii.  6 :  "  Let  none  come  into  the  house 
of  Jehovah  except  the  priests  .  .  .  they  shall  come  in  :  for 
they  are  holiness.  And  all  the  people  shall  keep  the 
watch  of  Jehovah."  This  reservation  of  the  word,  which 
is  maintained  throughout  most  of  the  Old  Testament, 
teaches  that  the  priests  stood  in  a  special  relation  to 
God  not  shared  by  the  rest  of  the  nation.  The  usage  of 
the  New  Testament,  quoted  above,  teaches  that  all  the 
servants  of  Christ  stand  in  a  special  relation  to  God.  It 
thus  marks  a  distinction  between  the  Old  Covenant  and 
the  New. 

In  Dan.  vii.  18,  22,  25,  27,  the  people  of  God,  to  whom 
is  to  be  given  the  everlasting  kingdom,  are  called  "  the 


ii8  THE  HOLINESS  [Part  III 

saints  of  the  Most  High."  This  prophecy  receives  a 
partial  and  preliminary  fulfilment  in  the  New  Testament 
use  of  the  word  saint  as  a  designation  of  the  servants  of 
Christ 

The  title  samt  or  holy  one  is  in  the  New  Testament 
given  to  church-members  generally,  however  immature 
their  actual  Christian  life.  The  Corinthian  Christians 
are  in  i  Cor.  i.  2  addressed  as  "sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus, 
called  saints,"  although  in  ch.  iii.  i  they  are  said  to  be 
"  not  spiritual  but  carnal,  babes  in  Christ."  This  use  of 
the  word,  which  differs  very  much  from  its  use  in 
popular  modern  religious  phraseology,  is  explained  by 
the  use  of  the  same  word  in  the  Old  Testament.  What- 
ever their  actual  conduct  and  character  might  be,  the 
priests  were,  as  men  whom  God  had  claimed  for  Himself 
and  who  were  therefore  bound  to  devote  themselves 
wholly  to  His  service,  objectively  Jioly.  For  God's  claim 
put  them  in  anew  position  of  obligation,  an  obligation  not 
set  aside  by,  although  it  greatly  aggravated  the  guilt  of, 
their  unfaithfulness.  Just  so,  God  claims  for  Himself 
all  those  whom  He  receives  as  His  adopted  sons.  And, 
whatever  they  may  do,  His  claim  puts  them  in  a  new 
and  very  solemn  position.  The  word  saint  is  therefore 
very  appropriate  as  a  designation  of  the  followers  of 
Christ :  for  it  declares  what  God  requires  them  to  be. 
To  admit  sin  or  selfishness  into  their  hearts  is  sacrilege. 
Nay  more.  It  also  points  out  their  privilege.  By  calling 
His  people  saints^  God  declares  His  will  that  we  live  a 
life  of  which  He  is  the  one  and  only  aim.  Therefore, 
since  our  own  efforts   have   proved   that  such  a  life  is 


Lect.  XIV]         OF   THE   SERVANTS   OF  CHRIST  119 

utterly  beyond  our  power,  we  may  take  back  to  God  the 
name  He  gives  us,  and  claim  that  it  be  realised  by  His 
power  in  our  heart  and  life.  To  keep  these  all- 
important  truths  ever  before  the  mind  of  believers,  the 
Holy  Spirit  moved  the  early  Christians  to  speak  of 
themselves  as  saints,  as  holy  men.  This  is  the  objective 
holiness  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

But,  although,  as  claimed  by  God,  all  the  children  of 
God  are  holy,  it  is  evident  that  the  full  idea  of  holiness 
is  realised  in  them  only  so  far  as  they  yield  to  God  the 
devotion  He  claims.  To  bear  the  name  of  saint  and 
yet  be  animated,  in  part,  by  a  worldly  spirit,  is  evidently 
a  contradiction  in  terms.  Consequently,  in  a  few  pas- 
sages, the  word  Jioly  denotes  actual  and  absolute 
devotion  to  God.  And  holiness  is  set  before  the  people 
of  God  as  a  standard  for  their  attainment.  So  i  Cor. 
vii.  34,  "that  she  may  be  holy  both  in  body  and  spirit," 
parallel  with,  "  how  she  may  please  the  Lord  ; "  Eph.  i.  4, 
"  that  we  may  be  holy  and  blameless  ; "  ch.  v.  27  ;  Col. 
i.  22  ;  I  Thess.  v.  23,  "  may  the  God  of  peace  sanctify 
you  ;"  Heb.  xii.  14,  "  follow  after  holiness;"  i  Peter  i.  15? 
"  be  yourselves  holy  in  all  behaviour."  In  these  passages 
the  word  holy  denotes  a  realisation  in  man  of  God's 
purpose  that  he  live  a  life  of  which  God  is  the  one  and 
only  aim.  In  other  words,  that  man  is  holy  who 
looks  upon  himself  and  all  his  possessions  as  belonging 
to  God,  and  uses  all  his  time,  powers,  and  opportunities 
to  work  out  the  purposes  of  God,  i.e.  to  advance  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  This  is  the  subjective  holiness  to 
which  God  calls  His  people. 


120  THE   HOLINESS  [Part  III 

It  will,  I  think,  be  found  that,  where  the  servants  of 
Christ  are  spoken  of  as  actually  holy,  the  word  is  used 
objectively  as  noting  what  God  claims  them  to  be ;  but 
that,  where  it  is  used  in  a  subjective  sense  for  actual 
and  unreserved  devotion  to  God,  holiness  is  represented 
as  an  aim  to  be  pursued.  Even  the  worldly-minded 
Corinthians  were  said  to  be  already  "sanctified  in  Christ ;" 
whereas  for  the  Thessalonicans,  with  whom  Paul  finds 
no  fault,  he  prays,  in  i  Thess.  v.  23,  that  "God  may 
sanctify "  them  and  thus  bring  them  to  completeness 
and  maturity.  The  apparent  contradiction  is  explained 
by  the  different  uses,  objective  and  subjective,  of  the 
same  word. 

The  subjective  use  of  the  word  holy  is  illustrated 
by  the  abundant  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  that 
the  ideal  life  which  Christ  died  to  realise  in  His 
people  is  a  life  in  which  all  our  powers  are  put  forth 
to  advance  the  purposes  of  God.  So  Rom.  vi.  11, 
"  reckon  yourselves  to  be  living  for  God  in  Christ 
Jesus;"  V.  19,  "present  the  members  of  your  body, 
as  servants,  to  righteousness,  for  sanctification  ;  "  ch. 
xiv.  7,  "  none  of  us  lives  for  himself ;  for,  if  we  live, 
we  live  for  the  Lord  ;  "  2  Cor.  v.  1 5,  "  He  died  that 
they  who  live  may  live  no  longer  for  themselves  but 
for  Him  who  on  their  behalf  died  and  rose ; "  i  Cor. 
vi.  19,  iii.  23,  "ye  are  not  your  own,"  but  "Christ's." 
The  life  here  described  is  a  life  of  holiness. 

Since  holiness  is  God's  claim  to  the  service  of  His 
creatures,  the  word  is  predicated  of  both  spirit  and 
body  :  so  I    Cor.  vii.   34,  Rom.   xii.    i,   i   Thess.   v.   23. 


Lect.  XIV]        of   the  servants   of  CHRIST  t2i 

For  God  claims  even  our  body,  that  its  powers  may 
work  out  His  purposes. 

Since  holiness  as  set  forth  in  the  Mosaic  ritual 
was  a  prophetic  outline  of  the  holiness  required  in  us, 
the  various  holy  objects  of  that  ritual  were  types,  as 
of  Christ,  so  also  of  His  followers.  We  are  a  "  temple," 
I  Cor.  iii.  i6,  vi.  19;  a  "priesthood,"  I  Peter  ii.  5,  9; 
a  "sacrifice,"  Rom.  xii.  i.  Our  future  life  will  be 
a  "  Sabbath-keeping,"  Heb.  iv.  9.  We  also  notice  that 
in  the  New  Testament  the  word  sanctify  occurs  most 
frequently  in  that  portion  of  it  which  deals  most  fully 
with  the  Mosaic  ritual,  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 
This  suggests  that  in  the  Apostolic  Church  the  word 
had  not  shaken  off,  as  to  a  large  extent  it  has  now, 
its  original  connection  with  that  ritual.  To  this 
original  reference  of  the  word  we  must  ever  recur  if 
we  wish  to  think  of  holiness  as  it  was  understood  by 
the  early  Christians. 

Very  interesting  is  i  Cor.  vii.  14  :  "  the  unbelieving 
husband  is  sanctified  in  the  wife."  Since  the  people 
of  God  are  holy,  it  might  be  thought  that,  as  taught 
in  Ezra  ix.  2,  "  the  seed  of  holiness  "  ought  to  separate 
itself  from  contact  with  the  unholy.  Paul  saj^s,  No. 
The  Christian  wife,  in  virtue  of  the  universal  priest- 
hood of  believers,  lays  her  husband  upon  the  altar  of 
God,  and  in  all  her  treatment  of  him  seeks  to  advance 
the  purposes  of  God.  Therefore,  in  the  subjective 
world  of  the  wife's  inner  life,  the  husband,  unbeliever 
though  he  be,  is  a  holy  object,  and  the  wife's  intercourse 
with  him  is  a  service  of  God.     Paul  proves  the  correct- 


122  THE  HOLINESS  [Part  III 

ness  of  this  view  by  showing  that  if  the  principle  of 
separation  from  the  unbeHeving  were  accepted  it  would 
in  some  cases  compel  the  Christian  mother  to  forsake 
her  children,  who  evidently,  in  spite  even  of  their 
possible  rejection  of  Christianity,  had  a  claim  upon 
their  mother's  care.  Whereas,  he  says,  on  the  principle 
that  to  the  Christian  wife  the  heathen  husband  is  a 
sacred  object,  the  children  also  are  sacred  and  there- 
fore fit  objects  of  a  Christian  mother's  care.  And  if 
it  be  right  for  her  to  live  with  her  children,  some 
of  whom  may  be  adult  idolaters,  on  the  same  principle 
it  is  right  for  her  to  live  with  her  husband.  Thus, 
from  the  case  of  the  children,  Paul  proves  the  case 
of  the  husband. 

Equally  interesting  is  i  Tim.  iv.  4  :  "  Every  creature 
of  God  is  good,  and  nothing  is  to  be  cast  away,  when 
received  with  thanksgiving  :  for  it  is  sanctified  through 
the  Word  of  God  and  prayer."  The  "  Word  of  God " 
is  the  voice  of  God  (Gen.  i.  29,  ix.  3)  by  which  God 
devoted  vegetables  and  animals  to  be  food  for  His 
rational  creatures.  This  universal  word  was  for  a  time 
restricted  by  the  Law,  which  declared  that  only  certain 
specified  animals  were  holy :  but  the  restriction  had 
been  solemnly  revoked  (Acts  x.  15),  and  the  original 
word  was  again  in  force.  Thus,  by  the  Word  of  God, 
all  manner  of  food  was  consecrated  for  the  use  of  the 
sacred  people.  The  general  word  "prayer"  includes 
the  "thanksgiving"  of  v.  4.  Our  thanks  to  God  is 
the  testimony  of  our  conscience  that  we  believe  our 
food  to  be   His  gift  to  us  ;    and    is    therefore   a    proof 


Lect.  XIV]        OF  THE  SERVANTS   OF  CHRIST  123 

that  we  eat  it  for  the  Lord.  "  He  eats  for  the  Lord  : 
for  he  gives  thanks  to  God  : "  Rom.  xiv.  6.  Con- 
sequently, whatever  food  we  eat  with  genuine  thanks- 
giving, is,  by  God's  original  word,  and  by  our  thanks, 
which  is  a  recognition  of  that  original  word,  made 
holy  food  suitable  for  the  holy  people.  But  the  same 
food,  if  eaten  without  this  intelligent  recognition  of 
it  as  God's  gift,  would,  in  spite  of  its  objective 
sanctification  by  God's  original  word,  be  unholy  and 
defiling:  see  Rom.  xiv.  14. 

We  have  now,  by  study  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments, obtained  a  clear  conception  of  holiness  as  under- 
stood by  the  writers  of  the  Bible.  The  adjective  holy 
describes  in  the  Old  Testament  various  objects  which 
God  claimed  to  be  specially  His  own  :  the  verb  sanctify 
denotes  the  action  of  God  in  reserving  them  for  Himself, 
and  the  action  of  man  in  devoting  them  to  His  service. 
In  the  New  Testament,  the  word  holy  is  a  frequent  title 
of  church- members  generally,  thus  teaching  that  God 
claims  for  Himself  and  His  service  all  those  whom  He 
receives  as  His  children  in  Christ.  It  is  used  occasion- 
ally to  describe  the  new  life  He  would  have  them  live. 
That  this  is  a  life  of  unreserved  loyalty  to  God,  we  learn 
from  other  teaching  of  the  New  Testament.  And  that  this 
is  the  meaning  of  the  word  lioly  when  used  to  describe 
the  new  life  in  Christ,  is  proved  by  its  use  throughout 
the  Bible.  The  holiness  of  God  and  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
will  be  discussed  in  Lectures  XXXII.  and  XXXIV. 

The  central  idea  of  holiness  is  devotion  to  God.  This 
idea  was  embodied  in  the  sacred  things  and  persons  and 


124  THE   HOLINESS  [Part  III 


times  of  the  Old  Covenant  :  for  God  had  claimed  them 
to  be  specially  His  own.  It  assumed  an  infinitely  loftier 
embodiment  in  the  Incarnate  Son  who  took  upon  Him 
our  fiesh,  lived  a  human  life  on  earth,  and  now  lives  a 
glorified  human  life  upon  the  throne  of  God,  with  a 
single  aim  to  accomplish  the  purposes  of  God.  The 
same  idea  is  in  part  embodied  in  all  the  adopted  children 
of  God.  For  God  has  claimed  them  to  be  His  own  :  and 
His  claim  puts  them,  whatever  they  may  do,  in  a  new 
and  solemn  position.  But  the  complete  idea  of  holiness 
is  realised  in  them  only  so  far  as  their  entire  activity  of 
body  and  mind  are  the  out-working  of  a  single  purpose 
to  accomplish  the  purposes  of  God. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  Purpose  is  the  autograph 
of  Mind.  Wherever  purpose  is,  there  is  mind.  And 
wherever  mind  is  directed  towards  the  Great  Source  of 
Mind,  there  is  Holiness. 

Hitherto,  we  have  sought,  by  study  of  the  Mosaic 
ritual,  to  understand  the  holiness  which  Christ  came  to 
realise  in  His  people.  This  process  may  be  profitably 
reversed.  The  holiness  proclaimed  by  Christ  explain.s, 
and  is  the  only  conceivable  explanation  of,  a  great  part 
of  the  Mosaic  ritual.  It  has  frequently  been  observed 
that  the  only  explanation  of  the  Mosaic  sacrifices,  and 
of  the  prominence  given  to  blood  in  the  Mosaic  ritual, 
is  the  doctrine  that  in  later  ages  Christ  came  to  save 
mankind  by  His  own  death  ;  and  that  apart  from  the 
death  of  Christ  the  Old  Testament  sacrifices  are 
meaningless  and  therefore  unaccountable.     It  is  equally 


Lect.  XIV]        OF   THE  SERVANTS   OF  CHRIST  125 

true  that  the  prominence  given  in  the  Old  Covenant  to 
ceremonial  holiness  receives  its  only  explanation  from 
the  holiness  taught  by  Christ.  In  order  to  teach  men, 
in  the  only  way  they  could  understand,  that  God  bids 
them  to  look  upon  themselves  as  belonging  to  Him,  and 
to  use  all  their  powers  and  time  to  work  out  His  purposes, 
God  set  apart  for  Himself,  in  outward  and  visible  and 
symbolic  form,  a  certain  place,  and  certain  men,  things, 
and  periods  of  time.  Afterwards,  when  in  this  way  men 
had  become  familiar  with  the  idea  of  holiness,  God  pro- 
claimed in  Christ  that  this  idea  must  be  realised  in  every 
man  and  place  and  thing  and  time.  Thus,  in  the  Biblical 
conception  of  holiness,  we  have  an  explanation  of  a 
marked  and  otherwise  inexplicable  feature  of  the  Old 
Covenant ;  we  have  a  link  binding  the  Covenants  to- 
gether ;  and  a  light  which  each  Covenant  reflects  back 
on  the  other. 

In  this  Lecture  we  have  seen  the  abiding  practical 
worth  of  the  Levitical  Ritual,  as  a  symbol  of  the  New 
Life  in  Christ.  To  this  abiding  value,  abundant  witness 
is  borne  in  Christian  literature,  and  especially  in 
Christian  psalmody.  In  all  ages  and  countries  Christian 
thought  has  found  appropriate  expression  in  the  phraseo- 
logy of  the  ancient  ritual.  This  spiritual  benefit  of  the 
symbolic  teaching  of  the  Old  Covenant,  of  symbols 
which  have  now  altogether  passed  away,  reveals  their 
divine  origin,  and  thus  renders  important  confirmation 
to  the  historical  narratives  which  trace  them  to 
commands  given  by  God  to  ancient  Israel.  Of  this 
manifold    and  far-reaching   benefit,  the  writers   of  the 


120       HOLINESS  OF  THE  SERVANTS  OF  CHRIST    [Part  III 

Old  Testament  seem  to  have  been  themselves  almost 
unconscious.  And  their  unconsciousness  ot  the  real 
significance  of  that  which  they  carefully  describe,  and 
which  without  their  description  would  have  been  unknown 
to  us,  indicates  clearly  a  Hand  unseen  guiding  their 
hands,  or  at  least  attests  the  divine  origin  of  that  which 
they  describe.  That  in  this  remarkable  manner  the  Old 
Covenant  prepares  a  way  for  the  New,  proves  that  it 
came  from  Him  who  in  later  days  sent  His  Son  to 
announce  the  salvation  dimly  foreshadowed  in  the 
ancient  symbols.  This  confirmation,  however,  extends 
only  to  the  broad  principles  underlying  the  ritual,  not 
to  all  its  details  ;  and  it  sheds  little  light  on  the 
authorship  or  age  of  the  documents  from  which  we 
derive  our  knowledge  of  the  ritual.  But  it  affords 
important  evidence  touching  the  historical  truth  of 
these  documents. 


LECTURE    XV 

THE   NEW  LIFE    OF   DEVOTION   TO    CHRIST 

WE  shall  now  trace  the  practical  bearing  of  the 
teaching  expounded   in  Lect.  XIV.   upon  the 
inward  and  outward  life  of  the  servants  of  Christ. 

Already  {Through  Christ  to  God,  p.  253)  we  have 
seen  that  the  eternal  Son  lives  a  life  of  unreserved 
devotion  to  the  Father,  a  life  in  which  all  the  infinite 
powers  derived  by  the  Son  from  the  Father  are  put 
forth  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  Father's  purposes. 
In  the  incarnate  Son,  this  unreserved  devotion  to  the 
Father  assumed  visible  human  form  in  the  consecration, 
to  God  and  to  the  salvation  of  men,  of  all  the  human 
powers  assumed  by  the  Son  at  His  entrance  into  human 
life.  In  Him  we  see  a  pure  human  life,  lived  under 
the  conditions  imposed  by  flesh  and  blood,  amid  human 
weakness  and  surrounded  by  bad  and  hostile  men  and 
under  the  fierce  attack  of  spiritual  foes ;  a  life  of 
unswerving  loyalty  to  God  and  to  the  great  purpose 
for  which  He  sent  His  Son  into  the  world  ;  a  created 
human  life  in  full  harmony  with  the  divine  life  of  the 
eternal  Son.  The  one  definite  aim  of  God  in  sending 
His   Son,  and   of  every  thought,  word,  and   act  of  the 

10  "7 


128  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  111 

Son's  life  on  earth,  was  to  rescue  men  from  sin  and  to 
build  up  the  eternal  Kingdom  of  God.  This  one  aim, 
unwaveringly  pursued  by  the  incarnate  Son,  gave  to 
human  life  a  unity  and  dignity  and  power  unknown 
before  and  otherwise  inconceivable. 

Already  {T/u^ongh  Chris  o  Gody  p.  49)  we  have  seen 
that  Christianity  has  saved  the  world  from  the  ruin 
into  which  in  Christ's  day  it  was  sinking,  and  has 
inaugurated  a  new  era  of  human  history  marked  by 
sustained  progress.  And  we  saw  that  the  beneficial 
results  of  Christianity  were  due  to  the  personality  of 
its  Founder.  In  other  words,  all  that  is  noblest  and 
best  in  modern  life  is  due  to  the  short  life  of  a  Syrian 
artisan  who  was  prematurely  laid  in  His  grave  nearly 
nineteen  centuries  ago.  Thus  the  human  life  which 
was  ideally  the  noblest  has  been  infinitely  the  most 
fruitful  in  blessing  to  mankind.  That  life  is  the 
divinely-given   pattern   of  all   human   life. 

The  use  of  the  word  holy  in  the  New  Testament 
implies,  as  we  have  seen  in  Lect.  XIV.,  that  Christ 
claims  from  His  servants  a  devotion  to  Himself  and  to 
the  kingdom  He  came  to  establish  similar  to  His  own 
devotion  to  God.  He  claims  that  we  use  all  our 
powers  of  body  and  mind,  all  the  resources  at  our 
disposal,  and  all  the  opportunities  which  life  affords, 
to  save  men  from  sin,  to  bring  them  to  bow  to  Christ, 
to  enrol  them  as  citizens  of  the  Kingdom  of  God, 
and  to  help  them  to  serve  Christ  ;  and  that  we  do  all 
this  for  His  sake.  In  other  words.  He  claims  that  all 
our  purposes  be  subordinate  to  His  one  great  purpose, 


Lect.  XV]  OF  DEVOTION   TO   CHRIST  129 

intelligently  and  earnestly  embraced  and  appropriated 
by  us.  This  is  the  New  Life  in  Christ,  the  purpose  of 
God  touching  His  adopted  sons. 

This  life  of  unreserved  devotion  to  Christ  is  the 
noblest  life  possible  to  man.  For  it  sets  before  us  an 
aim,  the  best  possible  aim,  one  which  every  one  can 
pursue  at  all  times  amid  all  the  various  and  varying 
circumstances  of  life,  one  in  pursuit  of  which  he  can  use 
all  his  powers,  and  one  which  everyone  can  attain. 
Now  all  human  effort  receives  its  worth  from  the  object 
aimed  at.  No  act  is  trifling  which  tends  to  realise  some 
great  purpose  :  whereas  the  greatest  effort  which  aims  at 
nothing  beyond  itself  is  valueless.  An  aim  persever- 
ingly  pursued  gives  to  life  unity,  force,  and  grandeur. 
This  has  sometimes  been  the  case  to  some  extent  even 
when  the  aim  has  been  unworthy.  Life  has  then  been  a 
ruin  ;  but  in  some  cases  a  splendid  ruin.  Now  all  self- 
chosen  aims  must  needs  be  earthly  and  selfish,  and 
tlierefore  unworthy.  For  the  stream  cannot  rise  above 
its  source.  Therefore,  God,  in  order  to  ennoble  even  the 
humblest  of  His  children,  has  given  Himself  and  His 
own  purpose  of  mercy  in  Christ  to  be  their  single  aim  ; 
in  order  that  thus,  by  directing  their  efforts  towards  the 
accomplishment  of  a  purpose  chosen  by  divine  wisdom 
and  love,  they  may  themselves  rise  daily  towards  God. 

The  aim  which  Christ  sets  before  us  commends  itself 
to  us  at  once  as  worthy  of  our  highest  effort  and  of  any 
sacrifice  it  may  involve.  For  His  purpose  is  the  rescue 
of  the  perishing,  the  highest  well-being  of  every  man, 
and    the    establishment    of    the    eternal    and    crlorious 


I30  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

Kingdom  of  God.  Christ's  own  consecration  to  this 
purpose  at  once  claimed  our  profound  homage.  He 
now  bids  us  make  His  purpose  our  own  :  and  this 
purpose,  embraced  by  us,  satisfies  us  as  being  worthy  of 
our  most  strenuous  and  sustained  effort. 

From  the  above  it  is  evident  that  a  Hfe  of  unreserved 
loyalty  to  Christ  is  a  life  of  loyalty  to  the  highest 
interests  of  men.  By  our  own  submission  to  Christ,  by 
exalting  Him  in  the  eyes  of  others,  by  leading  others  to 
bow  to  Him,  we  are  doing  the  most  we  can  for  the  good 
of  our  race. 

Devotion  to  Christ  stimulates  every  kind  of  human 
excellence,  and  in  the  highest  degree.  For  the  work  of 
Christ  demands  the  exercise  of  all  our  powers.  It 
stimulates  intellectual  effort  to  know  all  we  can  about 
God  and  Christ  and  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  in  order  that 
we  may  lead  others  through  Christ  to  God.  It  thus 
gives  to  human  intelligence  its  noblest  aim  ;  and  guards 
intellectual  success  from  the  perils  which  surround  it. 
It  gives  a  worthy  motive  for  the  care  and  development 
of  the  body  :  for  it  shows  that  the  powers  even  of  our 
perishing  body  may  work  out  eternal  results.  And  it 
gives  the  only  pure  motive,  and  a  very  strong  motive, 
for  effort  after  material  good  :  for  it  teaches  that  this 
world's  wealth  may  be  a  means  both  of  doing  spiritual 
good  to  others  and  of  laying  up  for  ourselves  treasure 
in  heaven.  In  various  ways  it  calls  into  exercise,  for 
the  advancement  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  thus 
quickens  and  develops  and  elevates,  all  our  powers, 
bodily,  intellectual,  and  moral. 


Lect.  XVJ  of  devotion   TO   CHRIST  131 

This  life  of  loyalty  to  Christ,  and  it  only,  is  strictly 
in  harmony  with  God's  creative  purpose  for  His  in- 
telligent creatures.  For  it  puts  into  active  exercise 
various  powers  designed  to  be  thus  exercised  and  capable 
of  their  highest  well-being  only  by  exercise.  It  sets 
them  to  work  for  an  object  which  commands  the  full 
approval  of  our  intelligence.  That  which  is  by  nature 
highest,  the  mind,  actually  rules  :  and  that  which  is  by 
nature  lower,  the  body,  attains  its  goal  by  acting  under 
the  direction  of  that  which  is  nobler  than  itself  Con- 
sequently, in  him  who  lives  for  Christ,  there  is  perfect 
harmony,  and  perfect  peace,  combined  with  highest 
activity. 

This  ideal  life  is  practicable,  in  the  highest  degree,  to 
all  persons  in  all  positions  in  life.  The  man  who  has 
fewest  powers  may  use  them  all  for  the  advancement  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God.  And  the  man  whose  circum- 
stances are  most  adverse  may  yet  make  it  his  single  aim 
to  do  all  he  can  to  accomplish  the  purposes  of  God. 
And,  if  so,  even  adversity  will  show  forth  the  glory,  and 
thus  help  forward  the  work,  of  Him  whose  grace  is  ever 
sufficient.  That  unreserved  devotion  to  Christ  is  possible 
to  all  men  always,  is  a  strong  presumption  that  the 
teaching  which  claims  it  is  from  God. 

This  presumption  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  de- 
votion to  Christ  is  not  only  possible  in,  but  fits  a  man 
for,  every  position  in  life.  By  making  men  right  with 
God,  it  makes  them  right  one  with  another.  For  we 
have  seen  that  the  man  who  accepts  as  his  own  the 
purposes  of  God  will  seek  to  do  all  possible  good  to  all 


132  THE   NEW  LIFE  [Part  I.I 

within  his  reach.  He  will  therefore  be  a  good  father, 
a  good  citizen,  a  good  neighbour,  and  a  tradesman 
pleasant  and  profitable  to  deal  with. 

In  Lect.  XXL  we  shall  find  that  unreserved  de- 
votion to  Christ  saves  us  from  bondage  to  the  world 
around,  by  placing  us  in  complete  harmony  with  our 
environment  ;  that  even  the  dark  things  of  life  are 
helpers  affording  us  opportunities  and  aid  in  serving 
God.  Thus  loyalty  to  Christ  gives  to  us  a  peace 
passing  understanding ;  and  makes  us  in  some  sense 
sharers  of  His  throne. 

Another  important  element  of  the  New  Life  in  Christ 
now  demands  attention.  Whole-hearted  loyalty  is 
possible  to  us  only  for  such  as  we  love  supremely.  All 
other  service  is  more  or  less  compulsory,  and  con- 
sequently imperfect.  We  therefore  wonder  not  that 
He  who  claims  the  unreserved  devotion  of  all  His 
intelligent  creatures  claims  also  their  love.  So,  very 
conspicuously,  in  Deut.  vi.  4,  5  :  "  Hear,  O  Israel,  Jehovah 
our  God  is  one  Jehovah.  And  thou  shalt  love  Jehovah 
th}'  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  strength."  Here  the  oneness  of  God  is 
made  the  ground  of  a  claim  to  His  people's  whole- 
hearted love.  To  this  command  our  Lord  pays  honour, 
as  recorded  in  Matt.  xxii.  38,  by  quoting  it  as  "  the  great 
and  first  commandment."  And,  throughout  the  New 
Testament,  love  to  God  and  to  Christ  is  the  mainspring 
of  the  Christian  life. 

In  Christ  we  see  God  using  means  to  evoke  in  His 
servants    the    love  which  He  claims.     The  means  used 


Lect   XV]  OF  DEVOTION    TO   CHRIST  133 

is  the  infinite  love  of  God  to  man  manifested  in  the 
mission  and  death  of  Christ  to  save  man.  So,  with 
emphatic  repetition,  i  John  iv.  9,  10  :  "  In  this  was 
manifested  the  love  of  God  about  us,  that  God  sent 
His  only-begotten  Son  into  the  world  in  order  that 
we  may  live  through  Him.  Herein  is  love  :  not  that 
we  loved  God,  but  that  He  loved  us,  and  sent  His 
Son  to  be  a  propitiation  for  our  sins."  And  Rom. 
V.  8 :  "A  proof  of  His  own  love  to  us  God  gives, 
that,  while  we  were  still  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us." 
This  love  of  God  is  equally  the  love  of  Christ.  So  Gal. 
ii.  20  :  "  who  loved  me,  and  gave  up  Himself  for  me." 
The  love  thus  historically  manifested  eighteen  centuries 
ago  is  inwardly  revealed  to  each  individual  day  by  day 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  given  to  the  adopted  sons  of  God. 
So  Rom.  v.  5  :  "  The  love  of  God  is  poured  out  in 
our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit  given  to  us."  And  the 
love  of  God.  which  is  the  essence  of  God,  thus  mani- 
fested in  Christ  and  revealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
becomes  the  new  mental  environment  of  the  children 
of  God.  So  I  John  iv.  16  :  "  We  have  known  and 
believed  the  love  which  God  has  about  us.  God  is 
Love  :  and  he  that  abides  in  love  abides  in  God,  and 
God  in  him." 

This  love  of  God  and  of  Christ  to  man,  thus  mani- 
fested and  revealed,  melts  even  man's  hard  heart  into 
love  to  God.  For  love  tends  ever  to  evoke  response  in 
the  object  loved.  Indeed,  of  this  love  of  God  to  man, 
all  love  of  man  to  God  and  all  Christian  love  of  man 
to    man    is    a  reflection.     "  We  love  ;  because    He   first 


134  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

loved  us  : "  I  John.  iv.  19.  And  this  love  to  God  and 
to  Christ  is  an  essential  element  of  the  new  life  in 
Christ.  "  To  those  who  love  God  all  things  work 
together  for  good  : "  Rom.  viii.  28.  But,  "  if  anyone 
love  not  the  Lord,  let  him  be  anathema : "  i  Cor. 
xvi.  21.  Thus,  as  we  shall  see  still  more  clearly  in 
Lect.  XVI.,  He  who  of  old  bade  His  people  to  love 
God  with  all  their  heart  works  in  them  now  obedience 
to  His  own  command  by  revealing  in  Christ  and  by 
the  Holy  Spirit   His  own  infinite  love  to  them. 

The  wonderful  effect  of  the  love  of  God  manifested 
in  Christ,  we  may  trace  a  step  further.  The  love  of 
God  is  love  to  all  mankind.  And  they  who  under  the 
influence  of  that  love  have  learned  to  love  God  cannot 
but  love  those  for  whom  He  gave  His  Son  to  die. 
"  This  commandment  have  we  from  Him,  that  he 
who  loves  God  love  his  brother  also:"  i  John  iv.  21. 
Thus  is  fulfilled  (Matt.  xxii.  39,  quoted  from  Lev. 
xix.  18)  not  only  the  first  great  commandment,  but 
"  a  second  like  to  it :  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour 
as  thyself." 

Between  love  to  God  and  love  to  our  fellows  is, 
however,  an  important  difference.  We  love  God 
because  He  is  in  Himself  infinitely  worthy  of  our 
love.  But  many  of  our  neighbours  whom  we  are 
bidden  to  love  are  repulsive  and  hostile.  We  love 
them  in  Christ  and  for  Christ's  sake.  And  in  Christ 
they  become  objects  worthy  of  our  love.  For  in  His 
great  sacrifice  on  their  behalf  we  learn  the  essential 
worth   of  manhood,   a  worth   which   sin   cannot   wholly 


Lect.  XV]  OF  DEVOTION  TO   CHRIST  135 

efface.  Deeply  fallen  as  some  men  are,  they  are 
capable  of  salvation,  and  are  worth  saving.  This 
inherent  worth  of  lost  humanity  has  been  felt  by 
thousands  of  the  servants  of  God  who  have  spent 
lives  of  hardship  and  peril  to  rescue  the  vilest  and 
worst,  and  have  found  an  abundant  recompense  in 
the  salvation  of  those  for  whom  Christ  died. 

We  have  already  learnt  that  God  claims,  for  His 
great  purpose  of  saving  men  from  sin  and  building 
up  out  of  the  ruins  of  lost  humanity  the  eternal 
Kingdom  of  God,  the  unreserved  devotion  of  all  His 
people.  And  we  have  now  seen  that  this  claim 
comes  to  us  from  One  who  so  loved  us  that  He  laid 
down  His  life  to  save  us  and  to  save  the  world.  A 
claim  supported  by  such  love  and  such  self-sacrifice 
we  cannot  resist.  Henceforth  our  love  to  Christ 
assumes  the  form  of  devotion  to  the  cause  for  which 
He  died.  And  in  the  light  of  His  great  sacrifice  any 
peril  or  hardship  endured  by  His  servants  sinks  into 
insignificance.  They  rejoice  to  lay  themselves  and  all 
they  have  upon  the  altar  consecrated  by  His  blood. 
Thus  His  yoke,  be  it  what  it  may,  becomes  pleasant 
and  His  burden  light. 

This  influence  of  the  love  manifested  on  the  cross  of 
Christ,  prompting  devotion  to  the  work  of  saving  men 
and  making  it  joyous,  finds  expression  in  2  Cor.  v.  13-17, 
where  Paul  is  unveiling  the  inner  motives  of  his  lifelong 
devotion  to  the  work  of  God.  "  If,"  as  some  suggest, 
"  we  have  gone  out  of  our  mind,  it  is  for  God,"  i.e.  to  do 
His  work.    "  If,"  as  others  say,  "  we  are  of  sound  mind," 


13^  THE   NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

i.e.  men  who  know  well  what  they  are  doing,  we  use  our 
intelligence  "  for  you,"  i.e.  to  do  you  good.  This  devo- 
tion to  God  and  to  the  good  of  men  is  explained  by  the 
manifested  "  love  of  Christ  "  which  "holds  "  them  "  fast" 
and  leaves  them  no  other  course  open.  This  compulsory 
influence  of  the  love  of  Christ  results  from  Paul's  judg- 
ment about  the  purpose  of  His  death,  viz.  "that  He  died 
for  all,  in  order  that  they  who  live  may  live,  no  longer 
for  themselves,  but  for  Him."  This  manifested  love, 
with  this  definite  purpose,  Paul  cannot  resist ;  and  there- 
fore makes  this  purpose  of  Christ  to  be  the  guiding  and 
all-controlling  purpose  of  his  own  life.  This  divine 
purpose,  thus  embraced,  completely  changes  both  Paul 
and  his  environment.  "The  old  things  have  passed 
away  ;  behold  they  have  become  new." 

Thus  in  Christ  and  in  His  death  on  the  cross  God 
not  only  claims  for  Himself  and  for  His  Kingdom  the 
unreserved  devotion  of  all  His  servants,  but  gives  them 
the  strongest  conceivable  motive  for  whole-hearted  and 
joyful  surrender  of  that  which  He  claims. 

From  the  above  it  is  evident  that  the  New  Life  is  one 
of  ceaseless  activity.  For  the  needs  of  the  perishing 
around  us  and  the  opportunities  afforded  us  of  doing 
something  to  save  them  permit,  to  those  who  have 
caught  the  compassion  of  Christ,  no  rest  except  such  as 
is  needful  for  more  effective  work.  Thus  the  service  of 
Christ  involves  toil  and  weariness  ;  and  the  difficulty  of 
the  work  involves  sometimes  hardship  and  peril  and 
suffering.  But  it  sets  before  us  an  aim  worthy  of  any 
sacrifice.     And  personal  self-denial  for  a  worthy  object 


Lect.  XV]  OF  DEVOTION    TO   CHRIST  137 

ever  ennobles.     Thus  while  apparently  living  for  others, 
the  servants  of  Christ  attain  their  own  highest  good. 

This  life  of  active  devotion  to  Christ  and  to  His  work 
is  the  normal  condition  of  intelligent  creatures  and  their 
normal  relation  to  their  Creator.  He  is  the  besrinnincr  • 
and  He  claims  to  be  the  end.  He  made  us  for  activity  ; 
and  in  activity  we  find  our  highest  well-being.  And,  of 
this  normal  relation  of  the  creature  to  the  Creator,  an 
eternal  Archetype  exists  in  the  Godhead.  For  the 
divine  life  and  infinite  powers  derived  by  the  Son  from 
the  Father  flow  back  to  Him  in  absolute  and  ceaseless 
devotion.  This  divine  Archetype  found  a  full  human 
counterpart  in  the  incarnate  Son.  And  only  so  far  as 
it  is  reproduced  in  us  do  we  attain  our  highest  well- 
being.  Thus  the  new  life  in  Christ  restores  each  one  to 
his  normal  condition  and  to  right  relation  to  God. 

The  New  Life  also  restores  each  one  to  right  relation 
to  his  fellows.  Man  was  created  not  only  to  serve  God 
but  to  help  his  brother  man.  Various  powers  have  been 
allotted  to  various  members  of  the  race  in  order  that 
each  may  use  them  for  the  general  good,  so  that  the 
endowment  of  each  may  become  an  enrichment  to  all. 
The  mutual  dependence  of  each  upon  others  reveals  the 
Creator's  purpose  that  each  should  help  the  others. 
Thus  the  race  to  some  extent  is,  and  to  the  fullest  extent 
is  designed  to  be,  one  organic  whole.  And  only  so  far 
as  this  unity  is  realised  in  mutual  co-operation  can  our 
race  attain  its  destined  well-being. 

This  divinely-ordained  harmony,  sin  disturbed.  When 
man  threw  off  the  vokc  of  God,  he  fell  a  victim  to  his 


138  r//5   NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

own  selfishness.  This  set  man  against  man,  and  thus 
broke  up  the  race  into  antagonistic  fragments.  The 
harmony  thus  lost,  God  restores  by  setting  before  all 
His  servants  one  definite  aim  in  which  all  have  a 
common  interest,  viz.  the  Kingdom  of  God  ;  and  thus 
drawing  men  not  only  to  Himself  but  to  harmonious 
co-operation  with  their  fellows.  It  is  as  though  the 
planets  had  broken  away  from  the  central  attraction  of 
the  sun,  and  each  pursuing  its  own  path  had  come  into 
collision  w4th  others,  causing  everywhere  confusion  and 
ruin.  Into  the  midst  of  that  ruin  came  the  Son  of 
God  in  order  that  by  drawing  to  Himself  the  wandering 
stars  He  might  become  Himself  the  Centre  of  a  restored 
moral  universe.  Thus  by  rescuing  individuals  from  sin, 
by  joining  them  to  Himself  and  to  their  fellows,  is  Christ 
the  Saviour  of  the  world.  He  regenerates  society  by 
inspiring  each  member  with  loyalty  to  Himself  in  His 
purpose  of  universal  blessing,  and  thus  with  loyalty  to 
the  highest  interests  of  the  whole  community. 

This  life  of  unreserved  devotion  to  God  in  the  service 
of  Christ  is  a  new  and  conspicuous  feature  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ.  Before  His  day,  men  had  recognised,  especi- 
ally in  Greece  and  still  more  in  Rome,  that  the  interests 
of  the  individual  were  bound  up  in  the  interests  of  the 
community.  And  recognition  of  this  truth  raised 
patriotism  into  a  sacred  duty.  Loyalty  to  God  was 
enjoined  by  the  religious  teachers  of  ancient  Israel.  And 
many  religions  have  demanded  from  their  votaries  costly 
sacrifices  to  be  laid  on  the  altars  of  their  gods.  Yet  not 
until    Christ   came   was    there    set    before   each    of  the 


Lf.ct.  XV]  OF  DEVOTION   TO   CHRIST  139 


servants  of  God  one  definite  work,  viz.  to  save  and  bless 
all  within  our  reach  by  leading  them  to  bow  to  Him 
who  justly  claims  their  devotion,  a  work  within  the 
capacity  of  the  humblest  yet  demanding  the  full  conse- 
cration of  the  most  richly  endowed,  a  work  worthy  of 
and  abundantly  recompensing  the  greatest  sacrifices 
and  ennobling  everyone  engaged  in  it.  This  lofty  con- 
ception, affording  a  new  standard  of  duty  and  of  human 
excellence,  we  have  traced  by  conclusive  documentary 
evidence  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

To  this  life  of  devotion  to  God  in  Christ,  Paul 
summons  his  readers.  In  Rom.  vi.  13  he  bids  them 
"  Present  yourselves  to  God,  as  if  living  from  the  dead, 
and  the  members  of  your  bodies,  as  weapons  of  righte- 
ousness, to  God."  To  this  exhortation  he  adds  emphasis 
by  repeating  it  \n  v.  19  ;  and  again,  at  the  close  of  his 
exposition  of  the  Gospel,  in  ch.  xii.  i,  "  Present  your 
bodies  a  living  sacrifice  .  .  .  your  rational  service." 
This  last  passage  represents  this  life  of  devotion  as  a 
priestly  ritual,  the  Christian  counterpart  of  the  daily 
sacrifice  laid  on  the  brazen  altar.  To  present  ourselves 
and  our  bodies  to  God  can  be  no  other  than  to  resolve 
henceforth  to  use  our  powers  in  His  service.  The  Greek 
aorist  tense  used  in  all  three  passages  represents  this 
consecration  as  a  definite  spiritual  act,  a  definite  entrance 
into  a  new  life  of  unreserved  devotion  to  God. 

How  this  definite  self-surrender  can  be  worked  out  in 
actual  life,  we  shall  now  inquire. 


LECTURE    XVI 

THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD 

WE  have  already  learnt  that  Christ  claims  that  we 
live  a  life  in  which  all  our  powers  are  ever  put 
forth  to  advance  His  Kingdom  ;  and  that  only  so  far  as 
this  aim  is  maintained  in  us  and  is  worked  out  into  the 
details  of  our  life  do  we  attain  our  highest  well-being. 
We  saw  also  that  by  making  this  claim  Christ  set  before 
us  a  new  and  loftier  ideal  of  human  excellence,  a  new  and 
higher  law.  The  realisation  of  this  ideal  in  themselves 
is  the  task  set  before  the  servants  of  Christ.  We  ask 
how  it  may  be  achieved. 

Evidently  the  first  step  towards,  and  the  abiding  con- 
dition of,  this  life  of  loyalty  to  Christ  is  a  resolute 
purpose  to  devote  ourselves  without  reserve  to  His 
service.  This  purpose  involves  a  surrender  of  all  other 
purposes  except  so  far  as  they  can  be  and  are  sub- 
ordinated to  this  one  great  purpose  ;  and  an  acceptance 
of  a  path  in  life  marked  out  not  by  our  own  choice  but 
by  the  will  of  Another.  This  initial  and  continued  self- 
surrender  is  the  costly  sacrifice  which  Christ  demands  : 
it  is  the  costliest  sacrifice  which  man  can  lay  upon  the 
altar  of  God.      It  is  self-consecration  to  the  great  work 


Lect.  XVIJ      THE  NEW  LIFE  IN   THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD     141 

of  which  Christ  says,  in  John  xvii,  19,  "  on  their  behalf  I 
sanctify  Myself  in  order  that  also  they  may  be  sanctified 
in  the  truth." 

Strange  to  say,  an  immediate  result  of  this  deliberate 
resolve  is  a  painful  discovery  of  our  inability  to  ac- 
complish or  even  to  maintain  it.  In  proportion  to  our 
earnestness,  we  become  conscious  of  a  hostile  force 
within  us  hindering  the  accomplishment  of  our  purpose 
and  even  more  or  less  dethroning  the  purpose  itself 
While  recognising  with  increasing  clearness  the  breadth 
and  the  justice  of  Christ's  claim,  and  with  a  desire  more 
or  less  constant  to  yield  what  He  so  justly  claims,  we 
find  ourselves  unable  to  fulfil  our  own  resolve.  This  felt 
inability  becomes  to  us  an  intolerable  bondage  and  con- 
demnation. Henceforth  for  us  there  is  no  real  peace 
until  we  yield  to  Christ  the  devotion  He  claims.  For 
deliverance  from  this  bondage,  and  for  a  realisation  in 
ourselves  of  this  new  life  of  loyalty  to  Christ,  we  turn 
again,  as  when  seeking  pardon  for  past  sins,  to  the 
Gospel  of  Christ. 

Our  inability  to  live  for  Christ  by  any  moral  strength 
of  our  own  proves  at  once  that  devotion  to  Christ  is 
possible  to  us  only  as  a  gift  and  work  of  Him  who  gave 
His  Son  to  rescue  man  from  sin.  And,  that  the  new  life 
in  Christ  is  a  work  of  God  in  us  is  plainly  taught  by  Paul. 
So  Phil.  i.  6,  "  He  who  has  begun  in  you  a  good  work 
will  complete  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ;"  and 
ch.  ii.  12,  1 3,  "work  out  your  own  salvation  :  for  it  is  God 
who  works  in  you  both  to  will  and  to  work,  on  behalf  of 
His    good   pleasure,"   i.e.  in   order  to   accomplish   what 


142  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 


seems  good  to  Himself.  The  same  is  taught  in  the 
passages  which  speak  of  the  new  Hfe  as  a  work  of  the 
creative  power  of  God.  So  2  Cor.  v.  17,  "if  anyone  be 
in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature  ;"  Gal.  vi.  15,  "in  Christ 
Jesus,  neither  circumcision  is  anything  nor  uncircum- 
cision  but  a  new  creature."  For  a  new  creation  implies 
a  fresh  putting  forth  of  the  creative  power  of  God.  In 
Eph.  i.  19,  20,  the  surpassing  power  of  God  put  forth  in 
those  who  believe  is  compared  to  the  power  which  raised 
Christ  from  the  dead  and  to  heaven.  Consequently,  as 
we  read  in  ch.  ii,  10,  "  we  are  His  work,  created  in 
Christ  Jesus  ; "  and,  in  ch.  iv.  24,  we  read  of  "  the  new 
man  which,  in  harmony  with  God,  has  been  created  in 
righteousness  and  purity  of  the  truth." 

We  are  not  surprised  to  find  that  of  this  good  work 
and  new  creation  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Agent.  For 
whatever  God  does  in  man.  He  does  through  the  agency 
of  the  Spirit.  Just  as  we  read  in  Gen.  ii.  7  that  God 
breathed  into  a  human  form  the  "  breath  of  life  and 
man  became  a  living  soul,"  so  Paul  teaches  that  to  all 
who  believe  the  Gospel  God  gives  His  Spirit,  which  is 
also  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  to  be  in  them  the  animating 
principle  of  a  new  life  like  that  of  Christ.  In  Gal.  iii.  2,  3, 
he  assumes  that  his  readers  have  received  the  Spirit, 
and  says  in  vv.  13,  14  that  "  Christ  bought  us  off  from 
the  curse  of  the  law  ...  in  order  that  we  may  receive 
the  promise  of  the  Spirit."  In  ch.  v.  16  (cp.  v.  25) 
he  urges  to  "walk  by  the  Spirit;"  he  speaks  in  ^.  18 
of  those  who  are  "  led  by  the  Spirit ;  "  and  in  v.  22 
describes  all  moral  excellence  as  a  "  fruit  of  the  Spirit." 


Lect.  XVI]  IN   THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  143 

In  Rom.  viii.  2,  he  asserts  that  "  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of 
hfe  in  Christ  Jesus  has  made  me  free  from  the  law  of 
sin  and  death  ; "  evidently  meaning  that  the  Holy  Spirit, 
given  to  all  who  are  in  Christ,  imposes  His  will  as  a  rule 
of  life  and  thus  rescues  them  from  bondage  to  the  evil 
rule  imposed  by  sin.  Consequently,  as  we  read  in  v.  4, 
they  "  walk  according  to  the  Spirit : "  i.e.  the  will  of  the 
Spirit  is  the  standard  by  which  they  choose  their  steps." 
On  the  other  hand,  if  anyone  has  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
this  man  is  not  His  :  "  v.  9.  And  this  indwelling  of  the 
Spirit  is  "Christ  in  you  : "  z/.  10.  By  the  help  of  the 
Spirit,  the  Roman  Christians  "  are  putting  to  death  the 
actions  of  the  body  ;  "  and  they  "  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of 
God:"z^7'.  13,  14.  Similar  language  runs  through  the 
Epistles  of  Paul.  Whatever  is  good  in  man,  he  attributes 
to  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelling  in  those  who  believe  in 
Christ. 

An  important  coincidence  is  found  in  Luke  xi.  13, 
where  Christ  assures  His  hearers,  by  a  comparison  with 
human  parental  love,  that  "  the  Father  from  heaven  will 
give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  those  who  ask  Him."  A  still 
more  important  coincidence  is  found  in  John  vii.  39, 
where  a  wonderful  promise  that  from  those  who  believe 
in  Christ  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water  is  thus  ex- 
plained :  "  this  He  spoke  about  the  Spirit  which  they 
who  believed  in  Him  were  about  to  receive." 

That  Christ  will  baptize  with  the   Holy  Spirit,  is  a 

conspicuous  element  of  the  teaching  of  the    Baptist  in 

all   four    Gospels.     The  same    promise   is   repeated,   in 

Acts  i.  5,  by  the  risen,  but  not  yet  ascended.  Lord.     This 
11 


144  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

united  testimony  leaves  no  room  to  doubt  that  as  matter 
of  historic  fact  Christ  promised  to  give  to  His  servants 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  in  them  the  source  of  a  life  not 
human  but  divine. 

The  nature  of  the  Spirit  thus  promised  has  been  in 
some  measure  expounded  in  Lect.  IX.,  and  will  be 
further  discussed  in  Lect.  XXXIV.  We  have  seen  that 
the  Spirit  of  God,  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  is 
the  source  of  an  influence  guiding  and  enlightening  and 
strengthening  men  from  within  with  the  wisdom  and 
power  of  God.  And  we  shall  learn  that  the  source  of 
this  divine  influence  is  an  eternal  Person  distinct  from 
the  Father  and  sharing  to  the  full  His  infinite  attributes. 
We  have  just  learnt  that  He  is  given  to  the  servants  of 
Christ  to  work  out  in  them  the  purposes  of  God  as  the 
animating  principle  of  the  New  Life  in  Christ.  This 
being  so,  the  examples  of  the  work  of  the  Spirit  quoted 
in  Lect.  IX.  become  illustrations  of  the  Christian  life. 
The  Spirit  who  fitted  Samson  and  Bezaleel  for  their 
work  and  made  the  prophets  to  be  the  mighty  voice  of 
God  is  given  to  be  in  us  the  arm  and  hand  and  voice 
of  God.  Against  that  power  no  hostile  force,  human 
or  natural  or  diabolical,  can  prevail.  And  the  wisdom 
thus  given  is  able  to  guide  in  every  perplexity.  He 
who  gives  the  Spirit  may  well  say,  "  Sufficient  for  thee 
is  My  grace." 

A  new  feature  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the  New 
Testament  is  that  He  is  also  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  i.e.  of 
Him  who  lived  a  human  life  of  unreserved  devotion  to 
God.      We  wonder  not  to  find  (e.g.  Rom.  viii.   lo,  Gal. 


Lect.  XVI]  IN   THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  145 

ii.  20)  that  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is  the 
actual  presence  of  Christ  in  us,  the  source  in  us  of  a  life 
like  that  of  Christ.  They  who  are  filled  with  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  are  filled  with  the  mind  and  power  of  Christ. 
Their  life  is  thus,  in  some  sense,  a  continuation  of  His 
Incarnation.  He  who  of  old  manifested  Himself  to 
men  in  the  flesh  and  blood  born  of  Mary  now  manifests 
Himself  in  His  servants  living  on  earth  by  His  Spirit 
dwelling  in  them.  Other  teachers  can  impart  know- 
ledge and  set  before  their  pupils  a  worthy  example. 
But  Christ  puts  His  own  life  into  His  servants,  His  own 
intelligence  to  enlighten  them,  His  own  moral  strength 
to  make  them  strong,  and  His  own  love  to  be  the  main- 
spring of  their  life. 

It  is  now  evident  that  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
sufficient  for  all  our  needs.  As  a  bearer  of  the  intelli- 
gence of  Christ,  He  reveals  to  us  in  its  excellence  the 
great  purpose  of  God  touching  His  Kingdom,  and  thus 
leads  us  to  approve  and  embrace  it.  As  a  bearer  of 
the  moral  power  of  Christ,  He  maintains  that  purpose  in 
us,  in  spite  of  allurements  around,  and  gives  us  moral 
strength  to  work  it  out  in  the  various  details  of  life.  We 
are  thus  conscious  that  our  life  and  purposes  and  actions 
have  their  source  not  in  ourselves  but  in  God  ;  and  are 
led  onvv-ards  and  upwards  by  a  wisdom  and  power  not 
human  but  divine.  No  longer  do  we  live,  but  Christ 
lives  in  us. 

The  doctrine  just  expounded,  viz.,  that  whatever  God 
claims  from  us  He  is  ready  to  work  in  us  by  His  Spirit 
dwelling  in  our  hearts,  places  the  moral  life  of  man  in  a 


146  THE   NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

light  altogether  new.  Apart  from  the  gift  of  the  Spirit, 
we  could  obey  God  only  by  our  own  moral  strength  ; 
which  experience  has  proved  to  be  utter  weakness. 
Consequently,  even  the  yoke  of  Christ  was  a  burden  we 
were  unable  to  bear.  But  now  every  command  is  a 
virtual  promise  :  for  it  declares  what  God  purposes  to 
work  in  us.  We  have  learnt  the  prayer  of  Augustine, 
"  Give  what  Thou  bidst,  and  bid  what  Thou  wilt : " 
Confessions  bk.  x.  29.  The  ancient  moral  law  and  the 
new  and  broader  law  of  Christ  have  become  to  us  a 
Gospel  of  joy.  "  Thy  statutes  have  been  my  songs  in 
the  house  of  my  pilgrimage." 

This  doctrine  is  a  characteristic  and  all-important 
feature  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  as  compared  with  all 
other  moral  teaching  ;  except  that  it  is  more  or  less 
clearly  indicated  in  the  Old  Testament,  chiefly  as  a 
promise  of  blessing  foreseen  in  the  far  future.  So 
Deut.  x*xx.  6  :  "  Jehovah  thy  God  will  circumcise  thy 
heart  and  the  heart  of  thy  seed  to  love  Jehovah  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart  and  with  all  thy  soul,  in  order  that 
thou  mayest  live."  Also  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25  :  "  And  I  will 
sprinkle  upon  you  clean  water,  and  ye  shall  be  clean. 
From  all  your  filthinesses  and  from  all  your  idols  I  will 
cleanse  you.  And  I  will  give  to  you  a  new  heart  ;  and 
a  new  spirit  I  will  put  within  you  :  and  I  will  take 
away  the  heart  of  stone  out  of  your  flesh,  and  1  will 
give  you  a  heart  of  flesh.  And  My  Spirit  I  will  put 
within  you,  and  I  will  make  you  to  walk  in  My 
statutes,  and  My  judgments  ye  shall  keep  and  do." 
God  promises  in  Joel  ii.  2%,  29,  "  It  shall  come  to  pass 


Lect.  XVI]  IN   THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  147 

afterwards  that  I  will  pour  out  My  Spirit  upon  all  flesh," 
upon  men  and  women,  slaves  and  freemen.  With 
these  promises  of  a  divinely-wrought  salvation  agrees 
the  prayer  in  Ps.  li.  7,  10  :  '■  Purify  me  from  sin  (literally, 
unsin  me)  with  hyssop,  and  I  shall  be  clean  •  wash  me 
and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow  ...  a  clean  heart  create 
for  me,  O  God,  and  a  steadfast  spirit  renew  within  me." 

The  above  teaching  and  other  teaching  similar  raise 
the  Old  Testament  above  all  contemporary  religious 
literature,  and  give  to  it  abiding  value  even  to  those  who 
have  heard  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  It  is  an  important 
link  between  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New ;  an 
evidence  of  a  special  revelation  given  to  ancient  Israel, 
in  addition  to  the  revelation  given  to  all  men  in  creation 
and  in  the  Moral  Sense  of  man,  leading  up  to  the  greater 
revelation  afterwards  given  in  Christ.  That  these 
promises  given  of  old  to  one  small  nation  are  finding 
to-day  a  world-wide  fulfilment  in  the  servants 'of  great 
David's  greater  Son,  is  no  small  proof  that  both  the 
ancient  promises  and  the  Gospel  of  Christ  are  from  the 
Creator  and  Ruler  of  the  world. 


LECTURE   XVII 

THE  NEW  LIFE   IN  FAITH 

IN  the  last  Lecture  we  learnt  that  the  new  life  in  Christ 
is  a  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  man  and  therefore 
a  gift  of  God  to  man.  It  is  at  once  evident  that  this 
work  of  God  is  not  wrought  in  all  men,  not  even  in 
all  who  hear  the  Gospel.  And  the  experience  of  the 
servants  of  Christ  tells  them  that  in  them,  even  in  their 
best  moments,  the  purpose  of  God  has  not  been  fully 
accomplished.  All  this  proves  that  its  accomplishment 
has  conditions  other  than  the  will  of  God.  We  ask 
what  these  conditions  are  ;  or,  in  other  words,  how  we 
may  obtain  for  ourselves  in  the  highest  degree  the  new 
life  breathed  into  men  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

That  the  condition  sought  for  is  in  man,  that  on 
himself  alone  depends  whether,  and  to  what  degree, 
the  salvation  announced  by  Christ  is  appropriated  by 
each  one  who  hears  the  glad  tidings,  we  shall  learn  in 
Part  IV.,  where  we  shall  discuss  the  divine  and  human 
elements  in  the  Christian  life. 

The  various  writers  of  the  New  Testament  agree  to 
teach    that    the    new  life  is  conditioned   by  FAITH  ;  in 

other  words    they  teach   that   only  so  far  as  each  one 

148 


Lect.  XVII]  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  FAITH  149 

believes  the  good  news  of  salvation  does  the  Spirit  of 
God  work  out  in  him  the  purpose  of  God  and  lead  him 
along  the  path  already  trodden  by  Christ.  So  Paul  in 
Gal.  ii.  20,  after  saying,  "  no  longer  do  I  live,  but  in  me 
Christ  lives,"  goes  on  to  say,  "the  life  which  I  now  live 
in  flesh  I  live  in  faith,  viz.  belief  of  the  Son  of  God  who 
loved  me  and  gave  up  Himself  for  me."  Here  we  have 
the  source  of  the  new  life,  Christ  living  in  us  ;  its  con- 
dition, a  faith  which  has  Christ  for  its  personal  object ; 
the  historic  fact  of  the  death  of  Christ,  which,  as  we  saw 
in  my  last  volume,  makes  salvation  of  sinners  possible  ; 
and  the  eternal  love  manifested  in  that  historic  fact. 
In  ch.  iii.  4,  to  some  who  were  seeking  to  be  justified 
in  law,  Paul  asks  one  question  "  only,"  viz.  "  was  it  by 
works  of  law  that  ye  received  the  Spirit,  or  by  a  hearing 
of  faith  ?  "  The  whole  argument  following  proves  that, 
as  the  beginning,  so  the  development,  of  the  Christian 
life  is  through  faith.  In  Gal.  iii.  14  we  read  that  Christ 
became  a  curse  on  our  behalf  "  in  order  that  we  may 
obtain  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  through  faith."  In  v.  26 
Paul  writes,  "  ye  are  all  sons  of  God  through  faith ; " 
and  adds  in  ch.  iv.  6  "  because  ye  are  sons,  God  has  sent 
forth  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  into  your  hearts."  In  Gal. 
V.  6  we  read  that  ■ '  in  Christ  Jesus  neither  circumcision 
avails  anything  nor  uncircumcision,  but  faith  working 
through  love."  In  2  Cor.  v.  7,  Paul  writes,  "  we  walk  by 
faith,  not  by  appearance." 

In  Eph.  i.  13  Paul  reminds  his  readers  that  "when 
they  believed  "  they  "  were  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit." 
In  z;.  19  he  speaks  of  "the  surpassing  greatness  of  the 


I50  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  111 

power  "  of  God  "  towards  those  that  believe  ;  "  comparing 
it  to  the  mighty  power  which  raised  Christ  from  the 
dead.  Inch.  iii.  1/  he  prays  "that  Christ  may  dwell, 
through  faith,  in  the  hearts  "  of  his  readers  ;  and  that 
thus  they  "  may  be  strengthened  through  His  Spirit " 
with  an  influence  reaching  "  to  the  inward  man."  And 
in  ch.  vi.  i6  he  speaks  of  "  the  shield  of  faith  with  which 
ye  will  be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  evil 
one." 

In  Rom.  vi.  1 1  Paul  bids  the  Roman  Christians  reckon 
themselves  to  be  "  dead  to  sin,  but  living  for  God,  in 
Christ  Jesus."  This  reckoning  can  be  no  other  than  the 
process  of  faith.  For  it  involves  a  conviction  that  we 
are,  or  from  the  moment  of  the  reckoning  shall  be,  dead 
to  sin  and  living  for  God.  Now  this  reckoning  and  con- 
viction would  be  an  illusion  unless  that  which  we  reckon 
be  true  or  at  once  become  true.  And,  if  true,  it  must 
be  wrought  in  us  by  the  power  and  Spirit  of  God.  For 
all  experience  proves  that  apart  from  such  divine  in- 
working  we  are  neither  dead  to  sin  nor  living  for  God. 
Consequently,  the  reckoning  to  which  Paul  exhorts  is  an 
assurance  based  on  the  word  and  promise  of  God  that 
from  this  moment  we  shall  be,  by  the  grace  and  power 
of  God,  separated  from  all  sin  and  living  a  life  of  un- 
reserved devotion  to  Him.     Such  assurance  is  faith. 

Many  slighter  indications  running  throughout  his 
epistles  leave  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  great  Apostle 
looked  upon  the  inward  salvation  wrought  in  man  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  New  Life  thus  imparted,  as 
conditioned  by  belief  of  the  promise  of  God.    So  2  Thess. 


Lect.  XVII]  IN  FAITH  151 

ii.  13,  "  God  chose  you  for  salvation  in  sanctification  of 
the  Spirit  and  beUef  of  the  truth  ;"  and  Col.  ii.  12,  in 
reference  to  the  new  life  which  comes  through  union 
with  Christ,  "In  whom  also  ye  were  raised  together  with 
Him  through  belief  of  the  working  of  God  who  raised 
Him  from  the  dead." 

The  long  list  of  examples  of  faith  in  Heb.  xi.  was 
given  (ch.  x.  22,  23)  as  an  encouragement  to  approach 
God  "  in  full  assurance  of  faith  "  and  to  "  hold  fast  the 
confession  of  hope  without  wavering  :  "  and  this  thought 
dominates  much  of  the  epistle,  e.g.  ch.  vi.  1 1,  12,  18. 
Similar  teaching  is  found  in  i  Peter  i.  5,  "  who  are  guarded 
in  the  power  of  God,  through  faith."  The  military  term, 
"  guarded,"  and  the  present  tense,  "  are  guarded,"  imply 
deliverance  from  sin  wrought  by  the  continuous  act  of 
God.  For  none  are  safe  unless  saved  from  sin  :  and  the 
safety  here  is  attributed  to  the  abiding  operation  of  the 
power  of  God.  It  is  said  to  be  "  through  faith."  Cp. 
ch.  ii.  6,  7,  V.  9,  where  again  faith  is  a  condition  of 
perseverance  in  the   Christian  life. 

Equally  clear  is  the  teaching  of  Christ  in  John  vii.  38  : 
"  He  that  believes  in  Me,  from  within  him  shall  flow 
rivers  of  living  water."  This  great  promise  is  explained 
by  the  words  following :  "  This  said  He  about  the 
Spirit  which  they  who  believe  in  Him  were  about  to 
receive."  The  promise  and  the  explanation  assert  that 
the  fulness  of  the  Christian  life  which  brings  blessing  to 
others  around  is  wrought  by  the  Spirit  of  God  in  man. 
on  the  condition  of  faith. 

In  the  Synoptist  Gospels   faith  is  very  conspicuous 


152  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

as  a  condition  of  blessing.  In  Matt  ix.  22,  Christ  says 
to  an  afflicted  woman,  "  Be  of  good  cheer,  daughter, 
thy  faith  has  saved  thee."  In  v.  29,  of  two  bhnd  men 
who  cried  to  Him  for  help  Christ  asked,  "  Believe  ye 
that  I  am  able  to  do  this  ? "  And,  when  they  had 
replied  in  the  affirmative,  He  said,  evidently  stating  a 
general  principle, "  According  to  your  faith,  be  it  done  to 
you."  Very  remarkable  is  Christ's  reply  in  Matt.  xvii.  20 
to  His  disciples  when  asking  why  they  were  powerless 
to  heal  a  lunatic  boy  :  "  Because  of  your  unbelief" 
This  reply  he  emphasises  by  adding,  "  Verily  I  say  to 
you,  if  ye  have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  ye  shall 
say  to  this  mountain.  Remove  hence  thither,  and  it  will 
remove  ;  and  nothing  will  be  impossible  to  you."  In 
other  words,  the  power  of  God  working  in  man  is  con- 
ditioned and  limited  by  man's  faith.  So  Matt.  xxi.  22, 
"all  things,  so  many  as  ye  ask  in  prayer,  believing, 
ye  shall  receive."  Similarly,  in  Mark  ix.  23,  to  one  who, 
asking  help  for  his  son,  said,  "  If  Thou  canst  do  any 
thing,  have  compassion  on  us,  and  help  us,"  Christ 
answered,  rebuking  the  doubt  implied  in  the  petition, 
"  If  thou  canst  believe  !  All  things  are  possible  to  him 
that  believes." 

This  frequent  teaching  of  the  Synoptist  Gospels  is  in 
remarkable  harmony  with  the  teaching  of  Paul,  which 
in  many  respects  differs  so  widely  from  that  of  the 
Synoptists,  that  the  moral  salvation  wrought  in  man 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  is  also  conditioned  by  man's 
faith.  The  agreement  of  these  various  types  of  New 
Testament    teaching    is    complete    proof    that    Christ 


Lect.  XVII]  IN  FAITH  153 

actually  taught  that  sah'ation,  from  beginning  to  end,  is 
through  faith.  And  this  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
features  of  the   Gospel  of  Christ. 

Since  the  new  life  is  a  life  of  holiness,  we  may 
speak  of  the  faith  which  conditions  it  as  SANCTIFYING 
Faith,  thus  distinguishing  it  from  the  faith  described 
on  pp.  116,  117  of  my  earlier  volume  as  the  condition  of 
Justification.    We  shall  now  investigate  its  specific  nature. 

Already  we  have  learnt  {Throng/i  CJirist  to  God, 
p.  106)  that  faith  or  belief,  these  being  equivalent,  is 
mental  rest  in  an  idea ;  and  that,  where  faith  has  a 
personal  object,  this  mental  rest  is  caused  by  a  spoken 
word  and  assumes  the  form  of  reliance  upon  the  word 
spoken  and  upon  the  character  of  the  speaker.  Justifying 
and  sanctifying  faith  are  alike  in  having  God  and  Christ 
as  their  personal  Object.  So  Gal.  ii.  20,  "  in  faith  of 
the  Son  of  God  ;  "  according  to  the  ordinary  objective 
use  of  the  Greek  genitive.  Also  2  Tim.  i.  12,  "  I  know 
whom  I  have  believed,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  He  is 
able  to  guard,  to  that  day,  that  which  I  have  committed 
to  Him."  Similarly,  in  John  vii.  38,  Christ  says,  "  He 
that  believes  in  Me,  from  within  him  shall  flow  rivers 
of  living  water  ; "  and  in  Mark  xi.  22,  "  Have  faith  of 
God."  Indisputably  the  faith  which  conditions  the 
work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  man  has  God  for  its 
Personal  Object.  In  other  words,  in  each  of  its 
two  departments,  saving  faith  is  an  assurance,  resting 
upon  the  word  and  power  and  love  of  God,  that  He 
will  fulfil  to  us  His  promise  of  salvation.  In  this  idea, 
the   mind  of  the  believer  is  at  rest. 


154  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

Sanctifying  faith  differs  from  the  faith  which  justifies 
in  the  specific  word  believed^  i.e.  in  its  OBJECT-MATTER. 
When  we  come  to  God  for  pardon,  we  grasp,  and 
appropriate  to  ourselves,  His  promise  of  pardon  for  all 
who  believe  that  promise.  And  the  promise  gives  us 
a  measure  of  rest.  By  faith  we  obtain  the  pardon 
promised  to  all  who  believe  :  and  the  promise  assures 
us  that  God  no  longer  frowns  upon  us  because  of  our 
past  sins.  On  the  other  hand,  we  know  that  God  smiles 
only  on  those  who  obey  Him,  and  that  Christ  claims 
the  unreserved  loyalty,  in  action  and  word  and  thought, 
of  all  those  whom  He  saves.  This  unreserved  devotion 
we  have  not  given  ;  and  for  our  failure  in  the  past  and 
for  our  lack  of  love  we  stood  condemned,  until  we 
ventured  to  believe  that  this  condemnation  was  buried 
in  the  grave  of  Christ.  But  forgiveness  for  past  un- 
faithfulness will  not  satisfy  us.  We  cannot  be  at  rest 
in  God  by  mere  forgiveness  and  falling  again.  We 
need  to  be  kept  from  falling  and  actually  to  yield  to 
God  the  devotion  He  claims. 

In  view  of  this  deeper  need,  Christ  speaks  to  us 
again  ;  and  thus  a  new  object-matter  is  given  for  faith. 
He  promises  to  work  in  us  by  His  Spirit  the  devotion 
which  He  requires,  to  give  us  complete  victory  over 
all  sin  and  to  fill  our  hearts  with  an  all-controlling  love 
to  God.  This  promise  we  embrace.  We  dare  not 
doubt  His  ability  and  His  purpose  to  save.  Incredible 
as  it  may  seem  that  we  who  have  been  so  long  led 
captive  by  sin  should  now  triumph  over  all  sin,  even 
over  the  accumulated  present   power  of  our  own  past 


Lect.  XVII]  IN  FAITH  155 

transgressions,  and  yield  to  God  henceforth  a  whole- 
hearted service,  it  is  easier  to  believe  that  God  will 
enable  us  to  do  this  than  to  suppose  that  His  promise 
will  fail.  We  therefore  venture  to  believe  that  what  He 
has  promised  He  will  also  perform,  even  in  us.  This 
reasonable  expectation  gives  us  rest.  And  in  proportion 
to  this  rest  of  faith  is  the  promise  of  God  fulfilled  in  us. 
This  inward  rest  in  expectation  of  a  salvation  wrought 
in  us  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  sanctifying 
faith. 

This  confident  expectation  of  victory  by  the  in- 
working  power  of  God  by  no  means  supersedes  earnest 
and  watchful  struggle  against  sin  and  intense  and 
intelligent  personal  effort  to  yield  to  Christ  the  devotion 
He  claims.  For  the  new  life  is  both  divine  in  its  source 
and  human  in  its  development.  Indeed,  it  is  psycho- 
logically impossible  to  believe  that  God  will  save  us 
from  sin  unless  we  resolutely  set  ourselves  against  it. 
Nor  can  we  expect  Christ  to  live  in  us  a  life  of  devotion 
to  God  like  His  own  life  on  earth  unless  we  appropriate 
to  ourselves  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ  and  gladly  lay 
upon  the  altar  consecrated  by  His  blood  whatever  we 
have  and  are.  Thus,  just  as  the  faith  which  justifies  is 
impossible  apart  from  repentance,  so  sanctifying  faith 
is  impossible  apart  from  unreserved  consecration  of  our- 
selves to  God. 

Since  this  consecration  is  a  new  purpose,  it  stands 
related  to  repentance,  which  as  we  saw  {Through  Christ 
to  God,  p.  135)  is  a  change  of  purpose. 

Not   unfrequently,  reluctance    to    give   to   Christ    the 


156  THE   NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

devotion  He  claims,  i.e.  to  use  for  Him  and  under  His 
direction  our  various  powers,  has  paralysed  faith  and 
left  men  in  spiritual  weakness.  On  the  other  hand,  an 
unreserved  surrender  to  God  not  supplemented  by  faith 
in  the  promise  and  power  of  God  has  often  been  followed 
by  failure  and  disappointment  and  sometimes  by  despair. 
For  full  rest  in  God  and  for  full  realisation  of  the  new 
life  in  Christ,  we  need  first  an  earnest  and  all-embracing 
consecration,  and  then  a  full  assurance  that  what  we 
need  God  will  work  in  us  by  His  Spirit. 

Christ's  claim  to  the  unreserved  devotion  of  His 
servants  is  the  LAW,  and  His  promise  to  work  in  them 
whatever  He  claims  is  the  GoSPEL,  of  the  New  Life  in 
Christ. 

That  faith  is  the  one  immediate  condition  both  of 
Justification  and  of  the  entire  Christian  life,  suggests 
irresistibly  a  deep  and  far-reaching  congruity  between 
this  unique  condition  and  the  benefits  dependent  on  it. 
And  this  congruity  is  not  far  to  seek.  All  real  belief 
is  a  surrender  of  the  whole  man  to  be  controlled  by 
something  or  some  one  which  or  whom  his  intelligence 
declares  to  be  worthy  of  confidence.  Faith  in  God  is 
confidence  given  to  One  whom  our  highest  intelligence 
recognises  with  complete  satisfaction  as  most  worthy  of 
our  confidence.  We  need  not  wonder  that  such  satis- 
faction with,  and  rest  in,  God  is  the  one  condition  of  the 
effective  operation  in  man  of  those  divine  influences 
which  raise  him  from  bondage  to  sin  into  a  life  of 
intelligent  devotion  to  God.  Faith  in  God  is  the  normal 
mental  attitude  of  an  intellic^ent  creature  to  whom  his 


Lect.  XVII]  IN  FAITH  157 

Creator  has  spoken  good  tidings  of  salvation  and 
blessing. 

Sanctifying  faith  differs  from  justifying  faith  in  that 
the  former  is  at  once  and  in  increasing  measure  verified 
by  actual  experience.  Justification  takes  place  in  God. 
It  is  the  smile  of  a  pardoning  God  replacing,  for  the 
justified,  His  righteous  anger  against  sin.  But,  that 
God  smiles  on  them,  the  justified  know  at  first  only  by 
faith.  On  the  other  hand,  the  new  life  in  Christ  is 
matter  of  direct  experience.  They  who  possess  it  are 
conscious  of  a  hand  from  above  raising  them,  and 
breaking  their  previous  bondage  to  sin  ;  and  they  feel  in 
their  hearts  the  pulsations  of  a  new  life.  They  are 
conscious  of  aims  and  efforts  which  their  moral  sense 
approves  as  good.  This  new  and  self-attested  life  is  a 
complete  verification  of  the  faith  with  which  in  their 
felt  moral  weakness  they  ventured  to  expect  it ;  and 
of  the  earlier  faith  with  which  they  accepted  the  Gospel 
promise  of  forgiveness.  For,  that  they  have  now  power 
to  do  right  in  a  measure  unknown  to  them  before,  is 
complete  proof  that  their  past  sins  are  forgiven. 

Thus  sanctifying  faith  and  its  blessed  results  both 
supplement  and  verify  the  faith  which  justifies. 

The  three  elements  of  the  New  Life  in  Christ  dis- 
cussed in  the  three  foregoing  lectures,  viz.  (i)  unreserved 
loyalty  to  Christ,  (2)  wrought  in  man  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  (3)  on  condition  of  man's  faith,  are  inseparably 
connected,  not  only,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  teaching  of 
the    New    Testament,    but    in    their   own   nature.      For 


158  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

God's  claim  to  the  unreserved  devotion  of  His  servants 
would,  in  consequence  of  the  bondage  to  sin  in  which 
all  men  are  born,  be  in  vain  unless  God  work  in  them 
the  devotion  He  claims.  And,  if  this  devotion  is  to  be 
in  any  real  sense  their  own,  this  work  of  God  in  man 
must  be  conditional  on  man's  free  surrender  to  it.  Of 
this  surrender,  faith  is  the  simplest  form.  For,  all 
actual  obedience,  involving  as  it  does  victory  over  a 
hostile  power,  is  possible  only  by  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  in  man.  But  faith  in  God  is  simply  man's 
inward  surrender  to  One  whom  his  intelligence  and  moral 
sense  declare  to  be  worthy  of  his  utmost  confidence.  In 
other  words,  if  we  are  to  live  for  God,  this  must  be 
by  His  work  in  us  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  this 
conditioned  by  our  faith. 

It  may  be  objected  that  faith  is  itself  a  work  of  the 
Spirit  and  therefore  cannot  be  a  condition  of  the  gift  of 
the  Spirit.  And,  undoubtedly,  the  Spirit,  when  received, 
reveals  to  us  in  increasing  measure  the  power  and 
earnestness  and  love  of  God,  and  thus  gives  to  faith  a 
broader  foundation  on  which  it  builds  a  firmer  confidence. 
Moreover,  even  the  earliest  surrender  of  faith  is  helped 
by  the  influences  with  which  God  draws  all  men  to 
Himself  But,  as  we  shall  see  in  Part  IV.,  there  is  in 
faith  a  personal  surrender  which  is  in  a  very  real  sense 
man's  own  act,  dependent  on  himself  alone.  And  this 
is  the  ultimate  condition  of  salvation,  the  ultimate  reason 
why  one  man  is  saved  and  another  is  not  saved. 

Notice  that  the  Spirit  is  the  link  connecting  faith 
with  the  New  Life  conditioned  by  faith.     For  faith  has 


Lect.  XVII]  IN  FAITH  159 

not  in  itself  power  to  save.  But,  to  those  who  believe, 
God  gives,  in  sovereign  mercy,  the  divine  Bearer  of 
the  power  and  life  of  God.  To  know  this,  greatly 
helps  our  faith.  For  we  dare  not  doubt  that  the 
Spirit  thus  given  is  able  to  impart  even  to  us  the 
devotion  which  God  claims. 

That  God  works  in  man  by  His  Spirit  the  devotion 
He  claims,  in  proportion  to  man's  faith,  changes  com- 
pletely the  whole  aspect  of  the  Christian  life.  It 
becomes  now  an  effort  to  understand  the  will  of  God 
concerning  us,  and  an  effort  to  believe  that  what  He 
desires  Himself  will  work  in  us.  This  new  aspect 
greatly  increases  our  obligation  to  give  to  God  that 
which  He  claims.  For  we  can  no  longer  plead  the 
excuse  of  inability.  On  the  other  hand  it  brings 
within  our  reach  a  completeness  of  devotion  to  God 
otherwise  impossible  and  inconceivable.  Henceforth 
we  wait  with  confidence  and  joy  to  see  in  our  own 
experience  the  wonderful  works  of  God. 

Our  delineation  of  the  New  Life  in  Christ  has  now 
reached  a  certain  general  completeness.  We  have 
learnt  its  distinctive  character,  viz.  unreserved  loyalty 
to  Christ,  i.e.  the  use  of  all  our  powers  to  work  out  the 
purposes  for  which  the  Eternal  Son  assumed  human 
form  ;  its  source,  viz.  the  Spirit  of  God  given  to  dwell 
in  man  ;  its  condition,  viz.  a  confident  expectation,  based 
upon  the  word  and  promise  of  God,  that  God  will  work 
in  us  whatever  He  desires  us  to  be  and  to  do. 

It  remains  only  that  we  trace  into  certain  practical 

details  the  broad  principles  thus  laid  down. 
12 


LECTURE   XVIII 

THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  ITS  FURTHER  RELATION  TO 
CHRIST 

VERY  remarkable  teaching  peculiar  to  the  New 
Testament  as  compared  with  all  earlier  religious 
teaching,  in  some  of  its  elements  peculiar  to  Paul,  in 
others  to  Paul  and  John,  now  demands  our  best  attention. 

Already  we  have  seen  that  of  the  New  Life  in  Christ, 
of  its  every  thought,  purpose,  and  effort,  Christ  and 
His  Kingdom  are  the  one  definite  AIM.  (He  is  also 
the  aim  of  the  universe.  So  Col.  i.  i6:  "for  Him 
have  all  things  been  created.")  In  other  words,  the 
new  life  is  (i)  FOR  CHRIST. 

We  are  also  frequently  taught  that  this  aim  can  be 
attained,  i.e.  that  God's  purposes  about  us  are  accom- 
plished, only  (2)  Through  Christ.  This  phrase  is 
very  frequent  in  the  New  Testament  to  describe  the 
relation  of  Christ  to  the  work  both  of  creation  and 
of  salvation.  It  represents  Him  as  the  Agent  or 
Instrument  through  whom  God  accomplishes  His 
creative  and  redemptive  purposes. 

As  examples,  I  may  quote  i  Cor.  viii.  6,  "  To  us 
there    is   one    God,    the    Father,   from    whom    are    all 


Lect.  XVIII]        NEW  LIFE   IN  RELATION  TO   CHRIST        i6i 

things  .  .  .  and  one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  through  whom 
are  all  things,  and  we  through  Him."  So  2  Cor.  v.  i8, 
"  God  reconciled  us  to  Himself  through  Christ  ;  "  Rom. 
V.  I,  2,  "peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
through  whom  also  we  have  had  access  into  this  grace 
in  which  we  stand  ; "  and  again  in  v.  1 1,  "  through 
whom  we  have  now  received  the  reconciliation."  In 
vi>.  12-21,  the  phrase  before  us  is  the  dominant  note 
of  an  important  comparison  between  Adam  and  Christ, 
and  of  an  important  statement  about  the  Law.  It 
occurs  also  in  Rom.  i.  5,  8,  ii.  i6,  vii.  4,  xv.  30, 
xvi.  27.  Similarly  Col.  i.  20,  "  He  was  pleased  through 
Him  to  reconcile  all  things  to  Himself;"  Eph.  i.  5, 
ii.  18,  Phil.  i.  II,  I  Thess.  v.  9,  Titus  iii.  5,  and 
elsewhere. 

The  same  phrase  is  found,  in  the  same  sense,  in 
Heb.  i.  2,  "  through  whom  He  made  the  ages ; " 
ch.  ii.  10,  through  whom  are  all  things;"  ch.  vii.  25, 
"those  that  come  through  Him  to  God;"  ch.  xiii. 
15,  21.  Similarly  John  i.  3,  "all  things  w^ere  made 
through  Him;"  v.  10,  "the  world  was  made  through 
Him  ;  "  v.  ly,  "  grace  and  truth  through  Jesus  Christ ;  " 
ch.  iii.  17,  "that  the  world  may  be  saved  through 
Him  ; "  ch.  xiv.  6,  "  no  one  comes  to  the  Father  except 
through  Me  ; "  and  I  John  iv.  9,  "  that  we  may  live 
through  Him."  Also  i  Peter  i.  21,  "who  through 
Him  believe  in  God;"  ch.  ii.  5,  "acceptable  to  God 
through  Jesus  Christ." 

The  frequency  of  tuis  phrase  in  various  wTiters  of 
the    New    Testament  reveals  its   importance  as  noting 


1 62  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  [Part  III 

a  far-reaching  relation  between  Christ  and  the  works 
and  acts  of  God.  He  is  not  the  First  Cause  :  for  all 
things  (i  Cor.  viii.  6,  2  Cor.  v.  i8)  are  from  God. 
But  He  is  the  avenue  or  medium  through  which,  i.e. 
the  Agent  through  whom,  God  works  out  His  purposes. 
As  such  He  is  "  Mediator  of  a  New  Covenant."  That 
the  Son  of  God  holds  a  similar  relation  to  creation 
and  redemption,  to  the  universe  and  to  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  reveals  their  common  source  and  essential  unity. 

He  who  is  the  Aim  and  the  Agent  of  the  New  Life, 
is  also  its  Pattern.  Just  as  the  Creator  (Gen.  i.  26) 
is  Himself  the  eternal  Archetype  of  His  intelligent 
creatures,  so  the  incarnate  Son  is  the  pattern  of  those 
whom  through  Him  God  reconciles  to  Himself. 

As  examples  I  may  quote  i  Cor.  xi.  i,  "become 
imitators  of  me,  as  I  also  am  of  Christ ; "  and  2  Cor. 
viii.  9,  where  Paul,  when  urging  his  readers  to  gene- 
rosity, appeals  to  the  supreme  example  of  Christ,  "  for 
ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that 
because  of  you  He  became  poor,  though  He  was  rich, 
in  order  that  ye  by  His  poverty  may  become  rich." 
Still  more  remarkable  is  Phil.  ii.  4-8  :  "  not  each  one 
seeking  his  own  interests,  but  each  one  also  the  interests 
of  others.  Let  this  mind  be  in  you  which  was  also 
in  Christ  Jesus,  who  being  in  the  form  of  God  deemed 
not  His  equality  with  God  a  means  of  self-enrichment, 
but  emptied  Himself,  taking  the  form  of  a  servant  and 
being  made  in  the  likeness  of  men  .  .  .  becoming- 
obedient  to  death,  even  death  on  a  cross."  Here  the 
incarnation  and  death  of  the  Son  of  God  are  set  before 


Lect.  XVIII]       ITS  FURTHER  RELATION   TO   CHRIST         163 

US  as  revealing  the  mind  of  Christ,  a  mind  which  Paul 
desires  to  be  reproduced  in  his  readers.  In  Rom.  vi.  10 
we  read  that  Christ  "lives  for  God  ;"  and  in  z>.  11  this 
is  set  before  us  as  our  example,  "  in  like  manner  reckon 
yourselves  to  be  dead  to  sin  and  living  for  God."  In 
Rom.  viii.  29  we  read  of  a  divine  purpose  that  we  be 
"  conformed  to  the  image  of  His  Son,"  in  order  that 
thus  the  only-begotten  may  become  "  firstborn  among 
many  brethren."  This  refers  evidently  to  the  future 
glory  of  the  servants  of  God  ;  and  it  asserts  that  of  that 
glory  the  splendour  of  the  eternal  Son  is  to  be  the 
pattern.  In  Phil.  iii.  21  we  are  expressly  taught  that  the 
glorified  body  of  the  risen  Lord  is  the  model  to  which 
will  be  conformed  the  risen  bodies  of  His  servants. 

That,  even  in  His  suffering  and  death,  Christ  is  our 
pattern,  is  very  conspicuously  taught  in  i  Peter  ii.  21-24, 
where  the  writer,  while  urging  his  readers  to  endure 
suffering  even  for  doing  good,  holds  before  them  the 
great  example  :  "  also  Christ  suffered  on  your  behalf, 
leaving  you  an  example  in  order  that  ye  may  follow  in 
His  steps."  This  pattern  is  then  further  described : 
"  who  did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  His  mouth  ; 
who  when  reviled  did  not  revile  again,  when  suffering 
did  not  threaten,  but  committed  Himself  to  Him  that 
judges  justly,  who  bore  our  sins  in  His  body  on  the 
wood."  The  same  example  is  again  urged  in  ch.  iii. 
17,  18  ;  and  in  ch.  iv.  i,  "Christ  having  suffered  in  the 
flesh,  arm  yourselves  also  with  the  same  mind." 

In  John  xiii.  15,  after  washing  His  disciples'  feet, 
Christ    says,   "  I    have    given    you    a    pattern    in    order 


i64  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  [Part  III 

that,  according  as  I  have  done,  also  ye  may  do."  In 
ch  XV.  10,  Christ  sets  Himself  before  His  disciples 
as  their  example:  "if  ye  keep  My  commandments, 
ye  shall  continue  in  My  love,  as  I  have  kept  My 
Father's  commandments  and  continue  in  His  love." 
So  again  in  v.  12:  "this  is  My  commandment,  that 
ye  love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you."  Note  also 
I  John  ii.  6,  "  he  that  says  that  he  abides  in  Him 
ought,  as  He  walked,  also  Himself  to  walk."  Similarly, 
in  Matt.  xi.  29  Christ  says,  "take  up  My  yoke  upon 
you  and  learn  from  Me  :  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in 
heart."  Throughout  the  New  Testament,  Christ's 
own  disposition  and  action  are  in  various  ways  set 
before  His  servants  as  a  perfect  model  for  their  own 
thought  and  life.  The  servants  of  Christ  are  to  be 
LIKE  Christ. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  elements  in  Christ  chiefly 
held  up  for  our  imitation  are  those  elements  which  at 
first  sight  seem  to  be  most  completely  beyond  us,  viz. 
His  incarnation  and  His  death.  These  are  set  before  us, 
not  for  literal  imitation,  which  is  impossible,  but  because 
in  them  most  conspicuously  was  manifested  that  mind 
of  Christ  which  must  be  in  us. 

Very  conspicuous  and  remarkable  is  the  phrase  IN 
Christ,  common,  in  a  somewhat  different  form,  to  the 
writings  of  Paul  and  John,  but  not  found  elsewhere  in 
the  New  Testament.  Evidently  it  embodies  a  concep- 
tion of  the  believer's  relation  to  Christ  which  dominated 
and  moulded  the  thought  of  the  two  great  theologians 
of  the  New  Testament. 


Lect.  XVIII]      ITS  FURTHER  RELATION  TO   CHRIST         165 

In  Rom.  iii.  24  we  read  of  "  the  redemption  which  is 
in  Christ  Jesus  ;"  in  ch.  vi.  1 1,  "  living  for  God  in  Christ 
Jesus  ;  "  in  z^.  23,  *'  eternal  Hfe  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  "  in 
ch.  viii.  I, "  no  condemnation  to  those  in  Christ  Jesus ;  "  in 
V.  2,  "  in  Christ  Jesus  has  made  me  free  from  the  law  of 
sin  and  of  death  ;  "  and  in  v.  39,  "  the  love  of  God  which 
is  in  Christ  Jesus."  So  i  Cor.  i.  2,  "sanctified  in  Christ 
Jesus ; "  V.  30,  "  from  Him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus  ; " 
ch.  iii.  I,  "babes  in  Christ;"  ch.  iv.  17,  "beloved  and 
faithful  in  the  Lord  ;"  2  Cor.  v.  17,  "if  any  one  be  in 
Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature  ;  "  v.  19,  "  God  was,  in  Christ, 
reconciling  the  world  to  Himself"  Still  more  marked  is 
the  same  phrase  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  So 
ch.  i.  I,  "faithful  in  Christ  Jesus;"  v.  3,  "every  spiritual 
blessing  in  the  heavenly  places  in  Christ,  according  as 
He  chose  us  in  Him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  ;  " 
vv.  6,  7,  "  made  us  objects  of  His  grace  in  the  Beloved 
One,  in  whom  we  have  redemption  through  His  blood, 
the  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  "  v.  10,  "  to  gather  together  all 
things  in  Christ  ;  "  v.  12,  "before-hoped  in  the  Christ ;" 
ch.  ii.  6,  "  made  us  sit  together  with  Him  in  the  heavenly 
places  in  Christ  Jesus  ;"  v.  10,  "created  in  Christ  Jesus 
for  good  works;"  v.  13,  "now  in  Christ  Jesus  ye  who 
were  formerly  far  off  have  become  near  in  the  blood 
of  Christ;"  vv.  20,  21,  "Christ  Jesus,  in  whom  every 
building  grows  into  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord." 

The  phrase,  "  in  Christ,"  has  its  counterpart  in  the 
teaching  that  Christ  dwells  and  lives  in  His  people.  So 
Rom.  viii.  10,  "  if  Christ  be  in  you  :  "  evidently  equivalent 
to  "  if  the  Spirit  of  God  dwells  in  you,"  in  vv.  9,    1 1. 


i66  THE   NEW  LIFE  IN  [Part  III 

Similarly  Gal.  ii.  20,  "no  longer  do  I  live,  but  Christ 
lives  in  me;"  and  Eph.  iii.  17,  "that  Christ  dwell, 
through  faith,  in  your  hearts  ;  "  and  Col.  i.  27,  "  Christ 
in  you  the  hope  of  glory." 

In  the  Fourth  Gospel,  similar  words  are  traced  to  the 
lips  of  Christ.  So  John  vi.  56,  "  he  that  eats  My  flesh 
and  drinks  My  blood  abides  in  Me  and  I  in  him."  They 
are  illustrated  by  the  parable  of  the  vine  in  John  xv.  1-8  : 
"  Every  branch  in  Me  not  bearing  fruit.  He  takes  it 
away  ...  as  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself, 
except  it  abides  in  the  vine,  so  neither  can  ye  except 
ye  abide  in  Me  ...  if  any  one  do  not  abide  in  Me,  he 
has  been  cast  outside  like  the  branch  and  has  become 
withered  ...  if  ye  abide  in  Me  and  My  words  abide  in 
you."  Notice  the  slightly  changed  phrase  in  vv.  9,  10, 
"  abide  in  My  love."  Very  important,  as  shedding  light 
upon  the  mysterious  relation  of  the  Father  to  the  Son, 
and  on  that  of  God  to  man,  is  ch.  xvii.  21-23  :  "  in  order 
that  they  all  may  be  one,  according  as  Thou,  Father, 
art  in  Me  and  I  in  Thee,  in  order  that  also  they  may  be 
in  Us  ...  in  order  that  they  may  be  one  as  We  are 
One,  I  in  them  and  Thou  in  Me,  in  order  that  they  may 
be  perfected  into  one."  Notice  also  i  John  ii.  6,  "he 
that  says  he  abides  in  Him  ; "  v.  24,  "  if  that  which  ye 
have  heard  from  the  beginning  abide  in  you,  also  ye 
shall  abide  in  the  Son  and  in  the  Father ;  "  ch.  iii.  6, 
"  every  one  that  abides  in  Him  does  no  sin,  every  one  that 
sins  has  not  seen  Him  nor  known  Him." 

As  in  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  so  more  conspicuously  in 
the  writings  of  John,  Christ  abides  in  those  who  abide 


Lkct.  XVIIl]      ITS   FURTHER   RELATION   TO  CHRIST  167 

in  VAm.  So  John  xv.  4,  "abide  in  Me,  and  I  in  you  ;  " 
V.  5,  "  he  that  abides  in  Me  and  I  in  him,  this  one  bears 
much  fruit,  because  apart  from  Me  ye  can  do  nothing  ;" 
I  John  iii.  24,  "he  that  keeps  His  commandments  abides 
in  Him  and  He  in  him  :  and  in  this  we  know  that  He 
abides  in  us,  from  the  Spirit  which  He  has  given  us  ;  " 
ch.  iv.  4,  "greater  is  He  that  is  in  you  than  he  that  is 
in  the  world  ;"  vv.  12,  13,  "  if  we  love  one  another,  God 
abides  in  us  and  His  love  is  perfected  in  us  :  in  this  we 
know  that  we  abide  in  Him  and  He  in  us,  from  the 
Spirit  which  He  has  given  us  ; "  z^.  1 5,  "  God  abides  in 
him  and  he  in  God;"  v.  16,  "he  that  abides  in  love, 
abides  in  God  and  God  in  him." 

This  language  of  Paul  and  John  and  Christ  represents 
Christ  as  not  only  the  Aim  and  Agent  and  Pattern  of 
the  new  life  but  also  as  its  Environment,  as  the  home 
and  refuge  and  vital  atmosphere  of  whatever  His 
servants  think  and  speak  and  do.  He  is  on  every  side 
of  them:  and  IN  CHRIST  they  rest.  It  also  represents 
Christ  as  the  animating  principle  moving  them  from 
within  and  breathing  into  them  a  new  life.  These  two 
aspects  of  their  relation  to  Christ  are  inseparably  con- 
nected. For  the  new  life  within  raises  us  into  a  new 
environment ;  or  rather  it  becomes  itself  a  new  environ- 
ment transforming  everything  around  us.  They  in 
whom  Christ  dwells  find  in  Him  their  home  and  safe 
refuge. 

Notice  carefully  that  the  relation,  just  expounded,  of 
believers  to  Christ  is  traced  to  an  essential  relation  of 
the  Son  to    the   Father.     So  John   xiv.    20  :  "I  in  My 


1 68  THE   NEW  LIFE  IN  [Part  III 

Father,  and  ye  in  Me,  and  I  in  you  ;"  ch.  xvii.  21,  "as 
Thou,  Father,  art  in  Me  and  I  in  Thee."  Each  of  these 
divine  persons  is  to  the  other  both  centre  and  circum- 
ference. And,  in  close  agreement  with  the  frequent 
teaching  both  of  John  and  Paul,  this  eternal  and  mutual 
relation  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  is  the  pattern  of  the 
mutual  relation  of  Christ  and  His  servants.  Conse- 
quently, as  quoted  above,  they  who  abide  in  Christ  abide 
also  in  God. 

Of  this  indwelHng  of  Christ  in  His  servants,  the  Spirit 
of  God  dwelling  in  the  hearts  of  believers  is  the  im- 
mediate Agent.  For  He  is  that  divine  person  who  comes 
into  immediate  inward  contact  with  the  spirit  of  man. 
Hence,  to  be  in  Christ  is  to  be  in  the  Spirit  and  to  have 
the  Spirit  in  us.  So  Rom.  viii.  9,  10,  ''ye  are  not  in  the 
flesh  but  in  the  spirit,  if  indeed  the  Spirit  of  God  dwells 
in  you  :  but  if  any  one  has  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  this 
man  is  not  His  :  but  if  Christ  be  in  you,"  etc.  He  is  the 
one  Administrator  of  the  entire  work  of  God  in  Christ. 

Since  Christ  is  a  Person  distinct  from  us.  He  is,  to 
those  who  dwell  in  Him  and  in  whom  He  dwells,  a  divine 
Companion,  and  they  are  sharers  with  Him  of  all  that 
He  has  and  is.  Hence  flows  a  fifth  relation  of  Christ  to 
His  servants.  They  live,  not  only  for  Him  and  through 
Him  and  like  Him  and  in  Him,  but  WITH  Him. 

After  teaching  in  Rom.  viii.  14  that  "  so  many  as  are 
led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  these  are  sons  of  God,"  Paul 
goes  on  mv.  17  to  argue  that  they  are,  "  if  children,  also 
heirs,  heirs  of  God  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ."  He 
means  that,  since  they  share  with  Christ  in  some  measure 


Lect.  XVIII]       ITS  FURTHER  RELATION   TO   CHRIST  169 

the  relation  to  God  indicated  by  the  title  "  Son  of  God," 
they  share  also  His  great  inheritance  :  in  other  words, 
he  asserts  that  the  servants  of  Christ  in  virtue  of  their 
relation  to  God  will  themselves  enjoy,  as  His  children, 
the  infinite  wealth  of  God.  The  solemn  words  following, 
"if  we  suffer  with  Him  in  order  that  we  may  also  be 
glorified  with  Him,"  assert  conspicuously  that  in  all 
things  the  servants  of  Christ  share  the  fortunes  of  their 
Lord. 

This  partnership  with  Christ  is  again  asserted  in  Eph. 
ii.  5,6:"  He  has  made  us  alive  together  with  Christ  .  .  . 
and  has  raised  us  together  with  Him  and  made  us  sit 
together  with  Him  in  the  heavenly  places  in  Christ." 
In  other  words,  God  has  made  us,  who  were  dead  by 
reason  of  our  sins,  to  be  sharers  of  the  life  which  He 
breathed  into  the  lifeless  body  which  lay  in  Joseph's  tomb. 
Virtually,  by  raising  Christ  from  death  to  life  and  from 
earth  to  heaven  where  He  now  sits  enthroned,  God  has 
raised  us  from  spiritual  death  into  a  new  life  and  has 
made  us  already  sharers  of  the  throne  of  Christ.  For, 
our  new  life  in  Christ  is  a  result  of  the  return  to  life  of 
the  sacred  corpse  of  the  Crucified.  Similar  language  is 
found  in  Col.  ii.  12,  13,  iii.  i ,  3.  Compare  2  Tim.  ii.  1 2,  "  if 
we  have  died  with  Him,  we  shall  also  live  with  Him  ;  if 
we  endure,  we  shall  also  reign  with  Him." 

In  John  xvii.  24  our  Lord  prays,  "  Father,  that  which 
Thou  hast  given  to  Me,  I  desire  that  where  I  am  also 
they  may  be  with  Me,  in  order  that  they  may  behold 
My  glory."  And  in  Rev.  iii.  21  the  Risen  One  says 
again,  "he  that    overcomes,  I  will  give  to  him   to   sit 


I70  THE   NEW  LIFE  IN  [Part  III 

with  Me  in  My  throne,  as  also  I  overcame  and  have 
sat  down  with  My  Father  in  His  throne."  Similarly, 
Matt.  xix.  28,  "  when  the  Son  of  Man  shall  sit  upon  His 
throne  of  glory,  also  ye  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones, 
judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel." 

In  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  the  foregoing  teaching 
receives  a  peculiar  and  important  development,  viz.  that 
the  great  historic  events  of  the  human  life  of  Christ  are 
reproduced  in  the  spiritual  experience  of  His  followers. 
So  Gal.  ii.  20,  "  I  died  to  law  .  .  .  ^^'ith  Christ  I  have 
been  crucified  ;"  ch.  v.  24,  "they  that  are  Christ's  have 
crucified  the  flesh  with  its  passions  and  desires ; "  and 
ch.  vi.  14,  "  through  which  (cross)  the  world  has  been 
crucified  to  me,  and  I  to  the  world."  Similarly  Rom. 
vi.  2-1 1,  "we  died  to  sin  ...  we  were  buried  with  Him 
through  the  baptism  for  death  ...  we  were  united  in 
growth  with  the  likeness  of  His  death  and  we  shall  be 
with  that  of  His  resurrection  .  .  .  our  old  man  has  been 
crucified  with  Him  ...  we  have  died  with  Christ,  and 
we  shall  live  with  Him  ...  in  this  way  (as  Christ  died 
to  sin)  reckon  yourselves  dead  to  sin  and  living  for  God 
in  Christ  Jesus."  Also  ch.  vii.  4,  "  we  were  put  to  death 
to  the  Law  through  the  (crucified)  body  of  Christ." 
And  again  Col.  ii.  11,  12,  "we  were  buried  with  Him  in 
our  baptism  ;  in  which  also  we  were  raised  with  Him 
through  faith  ;  "  so  v.  20,  "  if  ye  died  with  Christ  from 
the  rudiments  of  the  world  ;"  ch.  iii.  i,  "if  then  ye  were 
raised  with  Christ ; "  and  2  Tim.  ii.  12,  "we  died  with 
Him." 

Slightly  different  is  the   thought   expressed    in    Col. 


Lect,  XVIII]      ITS  FURTHER  RELATION   TO   CHRIST         171 

ii.  13,  "you,  being  dead  by  reason  of  the  trespasses 
and  the  uncircumcision  of  your  flesh,  He  has  made 
you  alive  together  with  Him,  having  forgiven  us  all 
our  trespasses  ; "  Eph.  ii.  5,  6,  "  and  us,  being  dead  by 
reason  of  our  trespasses,  He  has  made  alive  with 
Christ  .  .  .  and  has  raised  us  with  Him  and  made  us 
sit  with  Him  in  the  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus." 

In  the  above  passages,  notice  the  frequent  and  con- 
spicuous recurrence  of  verbs  compounded  with  auv-,  a 
mode  of  speech  reproduced  very  imperfectly  by  any 
English  equivalent. 

This  teaching  implies  that  the  servants  of  Christ  not 
only  are  sharers  of  His  inheritance  but  have  passed 
through  an  experience  analogous  to  the  various  steps 
of  the  transition  from  Christ's  human  life  on  earth  to 
the  throne  of  God.  Paul's  language  implies  also  that 
their  inward  .spiritual  experience  is  a  result  of  His 
outward  and  historic  experience  :  that  because  centuries 
ago  He  escaped  by  His  own  death  from  the  assault  of 
evil  they  are  to-day  conquerors  of  sin,  that  because  God 
raised  Him  once  from  the  death  in  which  He  lay  they 
now^  live  a  new  and  deathless  life.  The  life  which 
entered  into  the  sacred  corpse  of  Christ  has,  in  con- 
sequence of  their  inward  contact  with  the  Risen  One, 
entered  into  them  and  become  to  them  the  breath  of 
immortality.  And  the  assurance  that,  in  consequence 
of  what  Christ  has  already  done  and  suffered  for  them, 
they  will  some  day  reign  with  Him  in  endless  life  is 
to  them,  in  the  anticipation  of  faith,  a  present  partici- 
pation in  that  glory. 


172  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  [Part.  Ill 

This  teaching  affords  remarkable  and  powerful 
confirmation  of  the  historic  truth  of  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  Christ.  For  it  reveals  the  deep 
impression  made  by  these  events  on  the  mind  and 
thought  of  Paul ;  an  impression  without  parallel  in  the 
religious  thought  of  man.  And  this  impression  can  be 
accounted  for  only  by  the  truth  of  the  belief  which 
exerted  so  profound  an  influence  on  the  mind  of  the 
Apostle.  It  is  thus  an  important  addition  to  the 
argument  of  my  last  volume. 

The  same  teaching  greatly  helps  our  faith.  As  we 
look  back  to  Christ's  death  upon  the  cross  and 
remember  that  in  the  moment  in  which  He  bowed 
His  head  in  death  He  escaped  completely  from  the 
enemies  to  whose  assault,  for  our  sakes,  He  had 
exposed  Himself,  we  venture  to  believe  that  we  are 
sharers  of  that  deliverance,  that  upon  His  cross  we 
have  ourselves  escaped  from  the  dominion  of  sin  ;  and 
we  also  venture  to  believe  that  by  faith  and  in  Christ 
we  already  share  the  triumph  of  our  Risen  Lord  over 
all  the  enemies  of  Him  and  of  us.  Our  faith  is 
realised  in  actual  experience.  Henceforth  His  cross 
stands  between  us  and  our  sins :  and  through  His 
empty  grave  we  enter  a  life  of  victory. 

Thus  is  Christ,  the  eternal  Son  of  God  who  became 
Son  of  Man  and  died  on  the  cross  and  rose  from  the 
dead  and  rose  to  heaven,  the  Beginning  and  the  End, 
the  Centre  and  the  Circumference,  of  the  new  life 
given  by  God  to  His  adopted  sons.  He  through 
whose    agency   and    for   whose   glory  the   universe  was 


Lect.  XVIII]       ITS  FURTHER   RELATION   TO   CHRIST        173 

created  is  also  the  Agent  and  the  Aim  of  this  new 
life.  He  is  also  its  Pattern,  and  both  its  animating 
Principle  and  its  living  Environment.  The  entrance  of 
this  new  life  into  the  hearts  of  its  happy  possessors 
involved  a  change  so  wonderful  that  it  can  be 
compared  only  to  the  death  by  which  Christ  escaped 
from  His  human  and  spiritual  enemies,  to  His  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead  and  His  ascension  to  heaven.  It 
places  them  in  close  fellowship  with  Christ,  and  makes 
them  partakers  of  all  that  He  has  and  is. 

This  conception  of  life,  viz.  as  inspired  and  dominated 
by  one  human  and  superhuman  personality,  is  unique 
in  human  thought.  "  Other  men  have  founded  religions  : 
and  some  of  these  religions  have  continued  to  our  day. 
But  not  one  of  them  has  gained  for  himself  and  for 
the  events  of  his  life,  in  the  minds  even  of  his  most 
devoted  followers,  a  place  which  can  for  a  moment 
be  compared  to  the  place  which  throughout  the 
Christian  centuries  Jesus  of  Nazareth  has  held  in  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  unnumbered  thousands  of  whose 
whole  thought  He  is  the  beginning  and  the  end. 


LECTURE  XIX 

THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  SIN 

ALREADY  in  Lect.  IV.  we  have  seen  that  the 
various  writers  of  the  New  Testament  agree 
to  teach  or  plainly  to  assume  that  all  men  have 
committed  actual  sin.  In  this,  they  are  supported 
by  the  moralists  of  all  ages  and  nations.  The  same 
sacred  writers  assert,  and  represent  Christ  as  asserting, 
that  exact  retribution  beyond  the  grave  for  all  things 
done  on  earth  awaits  every  man.  They  teach  also  that 
all  sin  is  against  God,  and  incurs  His  strong  dis- 
pleasure. And  this  teaching  is,  in  no  small  degree, 
verified  in  our  own  experience.  For,  while  our  hearts 
are  turned  towards  sin,  we  cannot  think  of  God  without 
fear.  Evidently  and  indisputably  all  sin  is  a  shadow 
hiding  from  us  the  smile  of  God,  a  discord  disturbing 
the  normal  harmony  of  the  Creator  and  His  intelligent 
creatures,  and  a  barrier  separating  us  from  the  one 
Source  of  all  good. 

We  have  also  learnt  that  all  past  sins  are  a  present 
hostile  power  holding  back  the  sinner  from  doing  what 
he  knows  to  be  right,  and  thus  holding  him  down  in 
degrading  bondage.     This  hostile  power  is  increased  by 


Lect.  XIX]      THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  SIN     175 

each  past  indulgence  in  sin.  For  every  act  goes  to  form 
a  habit  leading  or  forcing  us  along  the  path  we  have 
already  trodden.  Consequently,  each  man  has  to  reckon 
with  the  accumulated  inward  result  of  his  past  life  ;  and 
must  either  resist  effectually,  or  be  carried  along  by,  the 
accumulated  power  of  his  past  sins. 

We  ask  now,  In  what  relation  do  the  adopted  sons  of 
God  stand  to  this  deep  shadow  and  to  this  hostile 
power?  That  they  have  been  received  into  His  family 
as  His  sons,  implies  that  they  have  passed  from  under 
the  frown  of  God  into  the  sunshine  of  His  smile.  And 
the  smile  of  God  implies  victory  over  all  sin.  For  the 
inborn  moral  sense,  which  claims  to  rule  the  life  of  man, 
asserts,  in  words  we  cannot  misunderstand  or  contradict, 
that  God  is  angry  with  all  who  commit  sin.  Conse- 
quently, since  experience  has  proved  that  we  have  no 
power  of  our  own  to  conquer  sin,  the  promise  of  pardon 
virtually  includes  deliverance  from  the  hostile  power  of 
sin.  So  Matt.  i.  21  :  "He  shall  save  His  people  from 
their  sins."  This  deliverance  from  sin  demands  now 
further  examination. 

This  victory  over  sin,  Paul  describes  in  Rom.  vi.  11 
by  bidding  his  readers  "  reckon  "  themselves  "  dead  to 
sin."  This  reckoning  is  evidently  (see  p.  1 50)  the  mental 
process  of  faith  ;  and  this  death  to  sin  is  an  accomplish- 
ment of  the  purpose  mentioned  in  v.  6,  "in  order  that 
we  may  no  longer  be  in  bondage  to  sin."  The  phrase 
"  dead  to  sin  "  can  mean  no  less  than  complete  de- 
liverance from   sin.     For  death  is  absolute  separation. 

Between   the   dead   and   the   things   amid   which   they 
13 


176  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

lived  is  an  infinite  gulf.  Well  may  Paul  ask  in  v.  2, 
"We  who  died  to  sin,  how  are  we  still  to  live  in  it?" 
This  death  to  sin  Paul  compares  in  vv.  lo,  1 1  to  Christ's 
death  on  the  cross  :  "  He  died  to  sin  once  ...  in  the 
same  way  reckon  yourselves  to  be  dead  to  sin  .  .  .  in 
Christ  Jesus."  That  Christ  died  to  sin,  can  only  mean 
that  when  He  breathed  out  His  life  on  the  cross  He 
thereby  escaped  from  all  contact  with  those  powers 
of  evil  to  whose  assault  He  exposed  Himself  in  order 
to  rescue  us.  And  the  separation  was  complete.  On 
the  morning  of  that  day  Christ  was  exposed  to  the  fury 
of  His  foes,  human  and  superhuman.  But  in  the  evening 
He  was  free.  By  death  He  had  escaped  for  ever  from 
Annas  and  Caiaphas  and  the  Roman  soldiers  and  from 
the  burden  and  curse  of  man's  sin.  As  His  sacred 
corpse  hung  upon  the  cross,  He  was  indeed  "  dead  to 
sin."  A  similar  deliverance  Paul  bids  his  readers 
appropriate  by  the  reckoning  of  faith.  It  can  be  no 
less  than  complete  deliverance  from  all  pollution  and 
bondage  of  sin.  The  same  is  implied  in  v.  22:  "but 
now,  having  been  made  free  from  sin  and  having  become 
servants  to  God,  ye  have  your  fruit  for  holiness  and  the 
end  eternal  life." 

Similarly,  in  2  Cor.  vii.  i  we  read,  "  Having  then 
these  promises,  let  us  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  defile- 
ment of  flesh  and  spirit,  accomplishing  holiness  in  the 
fear  of  God."  This  implies  a  salvation  so  complete  that 
not  even  our  thoughts  will  be  soiled  by  the  defilement 
of  sin.  For,  whatever  pollutes  the  thought  pollutes  also 
the  thinking  spirit.     This  purification  is  represented  as 


Lect.  XIX]  IN  ITS  RELATION   TO  SIN  177 


our  own  act  :  for,  although  only  God  can  save  from  sin, 
our  salvation  is  conditional  on  acceptance  of  the  deliver- 
ance offered  by  God.  These  passages  and  others 
similar  prove  that  Paul  taught,  as  the  privilege  of  the 
sons  of  God,  complete  victory  over  all  sin. 

In  close  agreement  with  the  above  is  i  John  i.  7,  "the 
blood  of  Jesus  His  Son  cleanses  us  from  all  sin  ;  "  and 
V.  9,  "  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins  and 
to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness."  The  Greek 
aorist  here  and  in  2  Cor.  vii.  I  represents  the  cleansing 
as  already  attained.  And  the  words,  "  the  blood  of 
Jesus  cleanses,"  teach  that  purification  is  a  result  of 
Christ's  violent  death  on  the  cross.  The  same  is  implied 
also  in  Titus  ii.  14,  "who  gave  Himself  on  our  behalf 
that  He  may  ransom  us  from  all  lawlessness,  and  purify 
for  Himself  a  people  of  His  own,  zealous  for  good 
works."  Salvation  from  the  hostile  power  of  sin  is 
implied  in  the  military  term  used  in  i  Peter  i.  5,  "  who 
are  guarded  in  the  power  of  God,  through  faith."  For 
sin  is  man's  worst  foe  ;  and  none  are  safely  guarded  unless 
they  are  saved  from  all  sin.  A  similar  deliverance  is 
asserted  in  an  address  of  Peter  recorded  in  Acts  xv.  9  : 
"  having  cleansed  their  hearts  by  faith."  Thus  agree 
Paul  and  John  and  Peter  in  announcing  salvation  from 
all  sin.  Similarly  Heb.  ix.  14:  "  how  much  more  shall 
the  blood  of  Christ  cleanse  your  conscience  from  dead 
works,  to  serve  the  living  God."  And  much  else  in  the 
New  Testament. 

The  language  quoted  above  does  not  necessarily  imply 
annihilation  of  the  inward  hostile  influence  resulting,  as 


178  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

we  have  seen,  from  sinful  indulgence  in  the  past,  z.e. 
annihilation  of  all  formed  habits  of  sin.  For  these 
influences  and  formed  habits  do  not  defile  us  unless 
yielded  to.  Consequently,  a  felt  tendency  to  evil, 
trampled  under  our  feet  by  the  power  of  God,  is  not 
inconsistent  with  the  purity  described  above.  Similarly 
Christ,  though  dead  to  sin,  is  ever  from  His  throne 
carrying  on  war  against  it.  The  passages  quoted  above 
teach  plainly  complete  victory  over  every  temptation  to 
sin,  a  victory  gained  for  us  by  the  death  of  Christ.  For 
we  cannot  be  dead  to  sin  while  we  are  led  astray  and 
polluted  by  it.  But  if,  as  each  temptation  arises,  it  is 
overcome,  even  though  we  be  conscious  of  its  presence 
as  a  conquered  enemy  ever  ready  to  rebel  and  therefore 
an  abiding  danger,  then  are  we,  kept  by  the  power  of 
God,  both  cleansed  from  sin  and  dead  to  sin. 

This  distinction  is  of  the  utmost  practical  importance. 
For  many  who  have  ventured  to  accept  the  full 
salvation  promised  in  the  Gospel  have  been  dis- 
appointed to  find  the  old  tendencies  to  evil,  perhaps 
after  a  period  of  apparent  quiescence,  again  asserting 
themselves  and  endeavouring  to  regain  their  lost  power, 
thus  occasioning  fresh  conflict  with  a  foe  supposed  to 
be  dead.  The  disappointment  is  needless.  If  we  abide 
in  faith  and  thus  abide  in  God,  each  temptation  will 
be  followed  by  victory.  Each  victory  will  weaken 
the  power  of  our  adversary,  and  will  reveal  the  im- 
pregnability of  the  fortress  in  which  we  have  taken 
refuge. 

Sinful   habits   can    be  eradicated  only  as  they  have 


Lfxt.  XIX]  IN  ITS  RELATION   TO   SIN  179 

been  formed,  i.e.  by  a  course  of  action.  God  will  both 
rescue  us  from,  and  destroy,  formed  habits  of  sin,  in 
thought,  word,  or  act,  by  giving  us  successive  and 
constant  victory  over  them.  The  man  who  has  been 
a  slave  to  drink  will  not  at  once  lose  his  appetite  for 
it.  But  he  will  receive  power  to  control  that  appetite. 
And  each  victory  will  weaken  it.  But  it  will  still 
remain  as  a  danger  needing  to  be  guarded  with 
constant  watchfulness. 

This  gradual  destruction  of  the  power  of  bodily 
appetites,  strengthened  by  sinful  indulgence,  seems 
to  be  referred  to  in  Rom.  viii.  1 3  :  "  if  by  the  Spirit 
ye  are  putting  to  death  the  actions  of  the  body,  ye 
will  live."  Here  "  the  actions  of  the  body  "  are  repre- 
sented as  having  life  :  otherwise  they  could  not  be 
put  to  death.  And  this  abnormal  life  can  be  no  other 
than  the  present  evil  influence  resulting  from  actions 
done  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  the  bodily  life. 
The  present  indicative,  "  ye-are-putting-to-death,"  de- 
notes an  action  now  going  on ;  and  consequently 
gradual.  We  have  here,  as  the  normal  state  of  the 
believer,  a  gradual  destruction,  by  the  aid  of  (v.  14) 
the  Spirit  of  God,  of  an  evil  influence  proceeding  from 
the  bodily  life. 

Instructive  also  is  Gal.  v.  16,  17:  "walk  by  the 
Spirit,  and  ye  will  not  accomplish  the  desire  of  the 
flesh.  For  the  flesh  desires  against  the  Spirit,  and  the 
Spirit  against  the  flesh.  For  these  are  hostile,  each 
to  the  other,  in  order  that,  whatever  things  ye  wish, 
these    ye    may    not    do."     Here    is    no  word  of   blame, 


i8o  THE  NEIV  LIFE  [Part  III 

simply  a  statement  of  fact.  We  may  therefore  take 
it  as  describing  the  normal  state  of  the  adopted  sons 
of  God.  Two  mutually  hostile  influences  seek  to 
control  their  action,  viz.  the  bodily  life  which  they 
share  with  animals,  and  the  Spirit  of  God.  This 
suggests  or  implies  a  continuance  of  influences  opposed 
to  the  Spirit  of  God  and  derived  from  the  constitution 
received  at  birth. 

From  Lectures  XVI.  and  XVII.  it  follows  that 
this  deliverance  from  sin  is  wrought  in  us  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  on  the  condition  of  faith.  This  puts 
within  our  reach  a  degree  of  purity  otherwise  im- 
possible. For  to  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  there 
are  no  limits.  And  we  cannot  doubt  the  promise 
of  Christ.  We  therefore  go  each  day  into  the  conflict 
against  sin,  even  against  the  accumulated  power  of 
our  own  past  sins,  and  in  spite  of  our  felt  moral 
weakness,  with  a  shout  of  victory.  For  we  know  that 
the  conflict  is  carried  on  not  by  our  weakness  but  by 
the  infinite  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelling  in 
our  hearts  and  guarding  us  from  all  evil.  To  thousands 
of  the  servants  of  Christ,  the  discovery  that  salvation 
from  sin  is  wrought  by  God  in  those  that  believe  has 
been  an  era  in  the  spiritual  life.  Probably  each  day 
as  they  review  it  they  are  ready  to  admit  that  through 
defective  faith  it  has  been  marked  by  sinful  imper- 
fection. But  they  thankfully  acknowledge  that  by  the 
grace  of  God  they  have  lived  a  life  of  victory  over 
sin  unknown  to  them  until  they  ventured  to  trust  the 
keeping  of  their  wayward  hearts  to  the  great  Shepherd. 


Lect.  XIX]  IN  ITS  RELATION   TO  SIN  i8i 

In  I  John  iii.  6,  we  read  that  "  everyone  that  abides 
in  Him  does  not  sin  ;  everyone  that  sins  has  not  seen 
Him,  neither  knows  Him."  So  v.  g  :  "  everyone  born 
from  God  does  no  sin  .  .  .  and  cannot  sin."  Probably 
the  word  siji  refers  here  to  actual  transgression ;  as 
in  James  i.  15  where  it  is  distinguished  from  desire, 
"  desire,  having  conceived,  brings  forth  sin."  But 
these  words  assert  that  the  new  life  is  altogether 
antagonistic  to  sin  ;  and  that  they  who  commit  sin 
either  (note  the  Greek  perfect)  have  not  seen  the 
heavenly  light  or  have  lost  the  effect  of  the  vision. 

The  victory  over  sin  described  above  is  a  wonderful 
and  decisive  verification  of  the  faith  with  which,  while 
groaning  under  the  power  of  sin,  we  ventured  to  accept 
the  promise  of  deliverance.  For  our  sins  were  essen- 
tially our  own  :  and  we  found  ourselves  in  the  past 
completely  under  their  power.  But  now  their  power 
is  broken  ;  and  this  deliverance  reveals  the  presence 
in  our  hearts  of  a  Helper  mightier  than  the  sins  which 
formerly  held  us  in  bondage.  Moreover,  this  Helper 
moves  us  to  bow  to  Christ  and  to  call  God  our  Father. 
And  this  proves  that  He  is  the  Holy  Spirit  given  by 
God  in  Christ  to  His  adopted  sons.  In  other  words, 
we  are  directly  conscious  of  an  unseen  Hand  raising 
and  guarding  us  ;  and  we  know  that  it  is  the  hand  of 
our  Father  in  heaven.  This  inward  experience  of  the 
presence  and  power  of  God  becomes  at  once  a  ground 
of  still  firmer  faith  in  God  and  an  inspiration  of  still 
more  joyous  hope  of  final  victory. 


LECTURE   XX 

THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO    THE  LAW 

IN  the  New  Testament  the  word  law  denotes  some- 
times the  body  of  commands  ritual  (Luke  ii.  22-24, 
27,  39,  John  vii.  23)  and  moral  (Matt.  v.  17-43,  Rom. 
vii.  7)  given  to  Israel  through  Moses  ;  at  other  times 
the  Pentateuch,  e.g.  Gal.  iv.  21,  where  the  story  of 
Abraham  is  quoted  as  written  in  the  Law ;  or  the  Jewish 
Scriptures  generally,  e.g.  Rom.  iii.  19,  where  quotations 
from  the  Psalms  and  the  Book  of  Isaiah  are  spoken  of  as 
the  voice  of  the  Law.  In  Rom.  ii.  15  the  Law  is  said  to 
be  written  on  the  hearts  of  all  men  as  the  standard 
by  which  even  the  Gentiles  will  be  judged.  This  last 
we  can  well  understand.  For  the  most  important 
element  of  the  Jewish  Law  is  but  a  literary  embodiment 
of  the  inborn  Moral  Sense  of  man.  That  all  national 
laws  are  embodiments  of  this  inborn  primal  law,  is 
asserted  "by  Cicero  in  an  important  passage  quoted 
on  p.  29  of  my  volume  Through  Christ  to  God.  From 
this  unwritten  yet  deeply  written  Law,  all  human  laws 
derive  their  authority. 

We  shall  now  discuss  the  relation  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  to  the  inborn  Moral  Sense  of  men  and  to  the 
Law   given   to    Israel   by   God   through   the   hands  of 

Z82 


Lect.  XX]     NEW  LIFE  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  LAW     183 

Moses,  as  this  relation  is  presented  in  the  New 
Testament. 

This  inquiry  is  the  more  needful  because  the  Moral 
Sense  speaks  with  an  authority  which  none  can  deny  or 
question.  Every  religion  must  be  judged  according  as 
it  supports  that  supreme  authority.  This  was  recog- 
nised in  the  definition  of  religion  given  at  the  beginning 
of  the  earlier  volume.  If  it  be  correct,  whatever  does 
not  make  for  righteousness,  whatever  does  not  prompt 
men  to  do  that  which  the  Moral  Law  commands,  lies 
outside  the  domain  of  religion.  The  relation  between 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  and  this  variously  written  law 
demands  our  best  attention. 

In  Gal.  ii.  19  Paul  says, "  through  law  I  died  to  law,  in 
order  that  I  may  live  for  God."  Similarly,  Rom.  vii.  4 : 
"  so  then,  my  brethren,  ye  also  have  been  put  to  death 
to  the  Law  by  the  (crucified)  body  of  Christ,  in  order 
that  ye  may  become  Another's,  even  His  who  was  raised 
from  the  dead."  These  words  are  given  to  explain 
the  foregoing  illustration  taken  from  a  married  woman 
set  free  by  the  death  of  her  husband  from  the  law  which 
bound  her  to  him.  They  also  illustrate  an  assertion 
in  ch.  vi.  14,  "  ye  are  not  under  law  but  under  grace." 

The  phrase  "  dead  to  the  Law "  at  once  recalls  the 
words  "  dead  to  sin "  by  which  Paul  describes  the 
believer's  complete  deliverance  from  former  bondage  to 
sin.  The  word  dead  certainly  denotes  in  each  case 
absolute  separation.  We  ask.  In  what  sense  is  the 
believer  in  Christ  separated  from  the  dominion  of  the 
Law? 


1 84  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

The  statements  of  Paul  just  quoted,  cannot  be  limited 
to  the  ceremonial  lazv.  For  the  compass  of  the  word 
lazv  in  Rom.  vii.  4  cannot  be  narrower  than  in  vv.  7,  8 
where  it  includes  conspicuously  the  tenth  command- 
ment. Moreover  the  Moral  Law  is  a  far  more  terrible 
barrier  to  the  favour  of  God  than  are  any  mere  ordi- 
nances of  ritual.  For  it  touches  the  springs  of  action 
much  more  closely,  and  reveals  our  moral  powerless- 
ness  much  more  clearly,  than  do  these,  and  makes  a  far 
stronger  appeal  to  the  Moral  Sense.  We  may  perform 
a  rite  correctly  ;  but  none  can  so  love  God  and  love  his 
neighbour  as  to  claim  on  this  ground  the  favour  of  God. 
If  there  is  any  law  from  which  we  need  deliverance,  it 
is  from  the  condemnation  pronounced  upon  every  man 
by  these  two  great  commandments. 

In  close  connection  with  the  above  teaching  of  Paul, 
we  find  other  teaching  at  first  sight  contradicting  it.  In 
Rom.  viii.  3,  4  he  asserts  that  God  sent  His  own  Son 
"  in  order  that  the  decree  of  the  Law  may  be  fulfilled  in 
us."  This  implies  clearly  that  obedience  to  the  Law  is 
a  part  of  the  purpose  of  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of 
God.  The  same  is  implied  in  ch.  xiii.  8-10,  where  Paul 
supports  an  exhortation  to  love  one  another  by  saying 
that  "  he  who  loves  his  neighbour  has  fulfilled  the  Law." 
Then  follow  several  commandments  from  the  Decalogue, 
and  the  greater  commandment,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself."  Paul  adds,  "  love  works  no  evil 
to  his  neighbour.  Love  therefore  is  a  fulfilment  of  the 
Law."  This  implies  that  in  some  real  sense,  the  Law  is 
still  valid  as  a  rule  of  conduct.     Otherwise  Paul  would 


Lect.  XX]         IN  ITS  RELATION   TO   THE  LAW  185 


not  support  a  general  exhortation  touching  conduct  by 
an  appeal  to  the  Law. 

In  Gal.  V.  19-21,  I  Cor.  vi.  9,  10  we  have  lists  of  sins, 
followed  by  the  solemn  warning,  "they  that  do  such 
things  shall  not  inherit  the  Kingdom  of  God."  This 
implies  that  the  broad  principles  of  morality,  which 
are  frequently  enforced  in  the  Old  Testament  as  binding 
on  Israel  and  the  world,  are  still  binding  under  the  New 
Covenant,  and  that  obedience  to  them  is  an  absolute 
condition  of  entrance  into  the  glory  announced  by  Christ. 
And  the  Epistles  of  Paul  and  the  New  Testament  from 
beginning  to  end  inculcate  obedience  to  the  Moral  Law 
as  a  condition  of  the  favour  of  God. 

Returning  now  to  the  comparison  in  Rom.  vii.  1-4, 
we  notice  that  the  married  woman  is,  while  her  husband 
lives,  prevented  by  the  Law  from  marrying  another 
man.  The  Law  seems  to  rivet  the  chains  of  what 
may  be  degrading  bondage,  and  to  be  an  absolute 
barrier  to  a  union  which  may  be  for  her  highest 
advantage.  But  the  husband  dies.  And  now  all  is 
changed.  The  hand  of  death  has  broken  down  the 
insuperable  barrier,  and  the  woman  is  free.  In  this 
sense,  she  is  dead  to  the  Law.  Paul  says  that  in  a 
similar  sense  they  who  believe  in  Christ  have  escaped 
from  the  Law  which  formerly  condemned  them.  They 
are  dead  to  the  Law  in  the  sense  that,  through  the 
death  of  Christ,  they  are  no  longer  condemned  by  it 
to  separation  from  God  and  to  the  consequent  bondage 
under  the  yoke  of  sin. 

On    the   other   hand,  the    Law    is    an    expression    of 


l86  THE  NEW  LIFE  [Part  III 

the  abiding  will  of  God  touching  the  conduct  of  all 
His  intelligent  creatures.  It  is  therefore  to  the  adopted 
sons  of  God  an  authoritative  guide  in  action  :  and 
only  as  they  obey  it  can  they  enjoy  His  favour.  In 
this  sense  Paul  says  in  i  Cor.  ix.  20,  21  that,  while 
he  is  "  not  himself  under  law,"  he  is  yet  "  not  without 
law  of  God  but  in  a  law  of  Christ."  The  changed 
phrase  suggests  that  the  Law  is  no  longer  a  burden 
under  which  he  lies  in  bondage  but  a  vital  element 
in  which  he  lives. 

This  changed  relation  to  the  Law  is  brought  about 
by  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Son  of  God,  to  be  in 
the  adopted  sons,  in  proportion  to  their  faith,  the 
animating  principle  of  a  new  life  of  devotion  to  God. 
For  the  Law  is  an  expression  of  the  mind  of  the 
Spirit.  "  The  Law  is  spiritual  : "  Rom.  vii.  14.  It  is 
"  the  Law  of  the  Spirit  of  life : "  ch.  viii.  2.  Dwelling 
in  the  sons  of  God,  the  Spirit  reveals  to  them  the 
excellence  of  that  which  the  Law  commands ;  and 
thus  makes  them  eager  to  do  it.  And,  more  wonderful 
still.  He  gives  them  power  to  accomplish  what  He  has 
taught  them  to  desire. 

This  gift  of  the  Spirit  on  the  condition  of  faith 
changes  completely  the  whole  aspect  of  the  Law.  It 
was  ever,  and  is  still,  a  voice  of  God  speaking  with 
an  authority  which  none  can  contradict.  But  formerly 
we  were  unable  to  obey  it.  And  the  voice  of  authority 
pronounced  our  condemnation.  Consequently  the  Law, 
though  manifestly  divine,  was  to  us  an  intolerable 
burden.     But  now  we  have  learnt  that  whatever  God 


Lect.  XX]         IN  ITS  RELATION    TO    THE  LAW  187 

commands  He  works  in  those  who  venture,  in  faith, 
to  expect  Him  so  to  do  ;  that  He  will  Himself  lead 
them,  and  enable  them  to  walk,  along  the  path  marked 
out  for  them  in  the  written  law.  In  other  words,  the 
command  has  become  a  promise,  a  promise  which  will 
be  fulfilled  in  us  by  the  power  and  gift  of  God 
according  to  our  faith.  So  complete  is  the  change 
that  it  can  be  described  only  by  saying  that 
the  believer  is  dead  to  the  Law.  For,  through  the 
death  of  Christ  on  the  cross  he  has  been  saved  from 
its  condemnation.  And  through  that  death  he  has 
entered  a  new  Ufe  of  obedience  to  the  Law.  Thus 
in  the  grave  of  Christ  the  Law,  as  Paul  and  we  once 
knew  it,  has  been  buried  :  and  from  that  grave  with 
the  rising  Lord  it  has  risen  to  be  the  light  and  joy 
of  His  people. 

The  apparent  occasional  antagonism  of  Paul  to 
the  Law  is  explained  by  his  own  past  experience  as  a 
sincere  and  earnest  Pharisee.  To  such,  it  seemed  to  be 
an  insuperable  barrier  to  the  favour  of  God.  On  the 
other  hand,  as  a  precious  revelation  of  the  will  of 
God  and  as  a  guide  through  the  maze  of  human 
life,  the  Law  was  a  joy  and  song  to  the  best 
men  in  ancient  Israel.  So  Ps.  cxix.  97,  "  O  how  I 
love  Thy  Law!  It  is  my  meditation  all  the  day;" 
and  V.  105,  "  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  to  my  feet,  and  a 
light  to  my  path."  In  all  ages  these  words  have 
expressed  the  experience  of  the  servants  of  Christ. 

The  abiding  validity  of  the  Law  finds  beautiful 
expression   in   James  ii.  8-12  :    "If  ye  accomplish  the 


i88     NEIV  LIFE  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  LAW     [Part  III 

royal  Law,  according  to  the  Scripture,  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbour  as  thyself,  ye  do  well.  But  if  ye  have 
respect  of  persons,  ye  work  sin,  being  convicted  by 
the  Law  as  transgressors.  For  whoever  has  kept  the 
whole  Law  but  has  stumbled  in  one  thing  has  become 
guilty  of  all.  For  He  that  said.  Commit  no  adultery, 
said  also,  Do  no  murder.  But  if  thou  dost  no  adultery, 
but  dost  murder,  thou  hast  become  a  transgressor  of 
law.  So  speak  and  so  do  as  being  about  to  be  judged 
by  a  law  of  liberty." 

The  deep  harmony,  expounded  above,  between  the 
law  written  in  the  hearts  of  all  men  and  in  the  sacred 
literature  of  ancient  Israel  and  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
is  an  all-important  and  decisive  confirmation  of  other 
evidence  proving  this  last  to  be  a  revelation  from 
God  to  man.  Manifestly  and  conspicuously  the  Gospel 
makes  for  righteousness.  For  it  liberates  us  from 
hopeless  moral  bondage ;  affords  strong  motive  for 
obeying  the  moral  Law  ;  and  gives  power  to  obey  it. 
This  wonderful  homage  paid  by  the  Gospel  to  the 
moral  Law  so  deeply  inwoven  into  the  highest  element 
of  human  nature  is  complete  proof  that  the  Gospel 
comes  from  the  intelligent  and  righteous  Creator  and 
Ruler  of  men. 


LECTURE   XXI 

THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  THINGS  AROUND 

LIKE  the  Moral  Sense,  and  the  Law  given 
to  Israel  in  which  it  found  historic  verbal 
expression,  also  the  universe  around  us  sprang  from 
God.  Consequently  the  New  Life,  which  is  the  breath 
of  God  in  Man,  stands  in  definite  relation  not  only  to 
the  Law  but  to  the  visible  universe.  For,  as  God  is 
One,  so  are  all  things  which  come  forth  from  Him 
mutually  related.  We  therefore  now  seek  for  the 
new  relation  to  their  environment  in  which  the  New 
Life  places  the  adopted  sons  of  God. 

This  inquiry  is  the  more  needful  because  at  first 
sight  even  to  the  best  of  the  servants  of  Christ  their 
environment  seems  sometimes  to  be  hostile.  And 
in  the  universe  itself,  from  some  points  of  view, 
confusion  seems  to  reign.  We  shall  find  that  under 
apparent  discord  lies  deep  and  far-reaching  harmony. 

Evidently  to  a  large  extent  man  is,  or  seems  to  be, 

at  the  mercy  of  his  environment,  material  and  human. 

The    constitution    of    the   body,   to   which    food    is    a 

necessity  of  life,  makes  life  to  be  to  most  men  a  toil 

and  weariness  and  anxiety.     The  need  for  food  makes 

man  dependent  on  his  further   environment.     For  the 

189 


190  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  [Part  III 

supply  of  food  is  conditioned  by  natural  forces  beyond 
his  control  or  foresight.  This  exposes  him  to  want, 
and  possibly  to  starvation.  At  all  times,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  same  bodily  constitution,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  world  in  which  he  lives,  man  is 
liable  to  accident,  involving  pain,  and  to  sickness.  And 
every  man  carries  in  his  body  the  sentence  of  death. 

All  this  is  greatly  aggravated  by  man's  human 
environment,  by  the  men  around  him  with  whom  he 
has  to  do.  For,  in  consequence  of  his  bodily  constitution 
and  the  constitution  of  the  universe,  each  man  is  to  no 
small  degree  dependent  on  his  fellows.  These,  if  hostile, 
may  take  the  bread  from  his  mouth,  and  may  inflict  loss 
and  pain  and  death.  This  dependence  on  others  com- 
plicates greatly  the  problems  of  life.  On  all  sides  man 
is  hemmed  in  by  his  environment  near  and  remote, 
material  and  human. 

This  dependence  on  environment  tends  to  degrade. 
The  effort  to  maintain  ourselves  and  those  dependent 
on  us  absorbs  both  time  and  energy,  and  thus  hinders 
the  self-culture  which  would  raise  us  to  a  higher  level  of 
intelligence.  And,  not  unfrequently,  under  pressure  of 
hunger,  men  have  sunk  into  cri-me  and  to  all  the  moral 
degradation  it  involves.  To  them,  the  necessities  of 
animal  life  have  debased  all  that  gives  to  human  life  its 
distinctive  worth.  Moreover,  man's  dependence  on  his 
fellows,  frequently  upon  bad  men,  tempts  him  to  seek 
their  favour  by  doing  that  which  his  better  judgment 
disapproves,  thus  making  him  in  some  sense  their  slave. 
Most  men  seem  to  be,  from  infancy  and  throughout  life, 


Lect.  XXI]         ITS  RELATION   TO   THINGS  AROUND  191 

helpless  victims  to  an  environment  hostile  to  self-respect, 
intelligence,  and  morality. 

We  notice  however  that  in  Christian  nations  much 
has  been  done,  and  more  is  done  each  year,  to 
rescue  man  from  the  evil  influences  of  his  environment. 
Facilities  for  communication  have  lessened  the  cost  of 
food,  and  have  made  famine  in  the  more  developed 
states  impossible,  and  in  all  Christian  states  less  likely 
and  less  terrible.  The  medical  art  has  done  much  to 
lessen  human  suffering :  and  the  mutual  care  of  man 
for  man  protects  in  increasing  measure  each  individual. 
Throughout  Christendom  man  is  conquering  his  sur- 
roundings, rescuing  himself  from  their  control,  and 
making  them  subservient  to  his  well-being.  Much  is 
also  done,  by  good  government,  to  rescue  men  from  the 
unjust  violence  of  their  fellows  ;  and  to  unite  the  body 
politic,  in  its  larger  and  smaller  circles,  in  efforts  for  the 
general  good,  and  thus  indirectly  for  the  good  of  each 
individual.  And  this  progress  in  the  past,  still  continuing, 
encourages  a  hope  that  man's  environment,  material 
and  social,  so  long  a  fetter  holding  him  down,  will 
become,  to  a  degree  far  greater  than  hitherto,  helpful  to 
his  pleasure  and  well-being. 

In  spite  of  this  hope,  the  burden  of  life,  caused  by  the 

constitution  of  the  body  and  by  man's  surroundings  as 

a  whole,  presses  very  heavily  on  many  loyal  servants  of 

Christ.     We  now  ask.  To  what  extent  is  man's  relation 

to   his   environment   directly   affected    by   the  new  life 

breathed  by  the  Spirit  of  God  into  those  who  believe 

the  Gospel? 
14 


192  THE   NEW  LIFE   IN  [Part  III 

This  question,  Paul  answers  by  asserting  in  Rom. 
viii.  28,  after  an  exposition  of  the  Gospel,  that  "  to  those 
who  love  God  all  things  are  working  together  for  good." 
The  words  following,  "  to  them  that  are  called  according 
to  purpose,"  suggest  that  this  harmonious  and  beneficent 
working  is  an  accomplishment  of  a  divine,  and  therefore 
eternal,  purpose  embracing  both  man  and  his  environ- 
ment. In  V.  29  this  purpose  is  further  described  as  a 
foreordination  of  the  called  ones  to  be  conformed  to 
the  image  of  the  Son  of  God.  In  other  words,  under- 
neath the  apparent  conflict  and  confusion  around  us 
there  is  harmony  ;  and  underneath  an  apparently  hostile 
environment  there  is  universal  beneficence  :  "  all  things 
work  together  ;  for  good."  This  is  further  illustrated, 
in  the  verses  following,  by  the  song  of  triumph  in  which 
culminates  Paul's  exposition  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  and 
of  the  new  life  resulting  therefrom.  He  gives  two  lists 
(v,  35  and  vv.  38,  39)  of  apparently  hostile  elements  in 
the  Christian's  environment,  and  declares  that  they 
cannot  separate  him  from  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  and 
that  therefore  in  them  he  is  more  than  conqueror.  Of 
the  reality  and  completeness  of  that  victory,  this  song  of 
triumph  is  itself  indisputable  proof. 

This  glowing  argument  implies  that  the  universe, 
including  natural  forces  and  bad  men,  is  in  the  hands  of 
God,  that  it  is  part  of  His  original  purpose  of  blessing, 
and  that  therefore  it  cannot  hinder,  but  must  help 
forward,  the  accomplishment  of  that  purpose. 

Similar  teaching  is  found  in  the  recorded  words  of 
Christ.     In    Matt.  vi.  24-34,   after   warning    of  the   im- 


Lect  XXI]        ITS  RELATION   TO    THINGS  AROUND  193 

possibility  of  a  service  divided  between  God  and 
Mammon,  He  teaches  that  our  Father  in  Heaven  knows, 
and  will  supply,  the  bodily  needs  of  His  children  on 
earth,  thus  leaving  them  no  place  for  anxiety.  In  John 
ix.  3,  Christ  says  that  a  case  of  blindness  from  birth, 
doubtless  a  result  of  natural  causes,  was  designed  to 
accomplish  a  divine  purpose  :  "  in  order  that  the  works 
of  God  may  be  manifested  in  him."  Similarly,  the  sick- 
ness of  Lazarus  (ch.  xi.  4)  was  "  for  the  glory  of  God,  in 
order  that  the  Son  of  God  may  be  glorified  thereby." 
All  this  implies  that  natural  forces  are  working  out  a 
divine  purpose  of  blessing. 

Under  the  earlier  covenant  Joseph  says,  as  recorded 
in  Gen.  1.  12,  in  reference  to  his  brothers'  great  sin  in 
selling  him  as  a  slave,  "  Ye  meant  evil  against  me  ;  but 
God  meant  it  for  good  ....  to  save  much  people  alive." 
That  the  universe  is  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  that 
all  its  forces,  natural  and  human,  are  working  out  His 
purposes,  underlies  the  teaching  of  the  whole  Bible. 

Even  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Sacred  Nation  and 
the  influence  of  Christianity,  similar  teaching  is  not  un- 
known. So  Plato,  Republic,  bk.  x.  p.  613  <3; :  "  This  must 
be  our  notion  of  the  just  man  that,  even  when  he  is  in 
poverty  or  sickness  or  any  other  seeming  misfortune,  to 
him  these  things  will  turn  out  in  the  end  for  good,  living 
or  even  dead.  For  by  the  gods  he  is  cared  for,  whoever 
he  be,  that  eagerly  wishes  to  become  righteous  and  by 
practising  virtue  to  become  like  God  so  far  as  this  is 
possible  to  man."  This  quotation  might  be  supported  by 
man}'  others  from  the  best  literature  of  the  ancient  world. 


194  THE  NEW   LIFE  IN  [Part  III 

To  the  race  as  a  whole  many  benefits  accrue  from 
elements  in  man's  environment  which  are  unpleasant 
and  painful  and  at  first  sight  injurious.  Man's  com- 
pulsory conflict  with  nature  for  food  and  other  bodily 
necessities  has  wonderfully  stimulated  industry  and  in- 
telligence ;  and  has  thus  been  a  fruitful  source  of  progress. 
And  it  has  frequently  developed  the  highest  moral 
qualities.  Men  have  submitted  to  toil  and  pain  and 
have  dared  danger  in  order  to  provide  for  their  wives 
and  little  ones ;  and  have  thus  themselves  risen  in 
moral  worth.  Unquestionably  the  hardships  of  life  have 
contributed  immensely  to  the  higher  education  of  the 
race.  Even  misery  has  evoked  a  pity  and  beneficence 
which  Jhave  greatly  enriched  the  benefactors.  And  if 
the  general  environment  of  man,  which  taken  as  a  whole 
has  been  so  beneficial  to  him,  be  from  God,  we  need  not 
doubt  that  this  education  of  the  race  was  part  of  the 
purpose  of  that  environment.  In  this  general  sense,  to 
the  race  as  a  whole,  many  influences  apparently  hostile 
are  working  together  for  good. 

Paul's  statement  quoted  above  that  all  things  are 
working  for  good  is  limited  to  "  those  that  love  God." 
Benefits  to  others  lay  outside  the  Apostle's  thought. 
This  limitation  is  easily  understood.  For  love  is  the 
normal  relation  of  an  intelligent  creature  to  his  Creator. 
He  is  worthy  of  our  love  ;  and  has  revealed  Himself 
to  us  in  order  that  we  may  love  Him.  Not  to  love 
Him,  is  not  to  know  Him.  Where  there  is  no  love  to 
God,  man's  normal  development,  intellectual  and  moral, 
has  been  hindered.     This  implies  resistance  to  God,  and 


Lect.  XXI]        ITS  RELATION   TO   THINGS  AROUND  195 

discord.  On  the  other  hand,  to  those  who  have  accepted 
this  norma]  development  there  is  harmony  with  God  and 
consequently  harmony  with  all  that  God  has  made. 

This  teaching  of  Paul  has  been  again  and  again 
verified.  Thousands  of  men  and  women  have  borne 
bravely  and  cheerfully  the  burdens  of  life  :  and  their 
endurance  has  developed  in  them  a  nobility  of  spirit, 
a  trust  in  God,  and  an  experience  of  His  all-sufficient 
grace  abundantly  worth  all  that  they  have  endured. 
Even  the  malice  of  bad  men,  failing  to  evoke  in  them 
resentment  and  thus  to  do  them  the  only  real  injury, 
has  wrought  in  them  patience  and  forbearance  like 
that  of  Christ,  and  has  thus  been  a  source  of  spiritual 
gain.  The  pleasant  things  of  life  have  not  obscured  the 
better  things  of  the  life  to  come,  but  have  prompted 
gratitude  to  God.  And  wealth  has  been  a  means  of 
advancing  His  Kingdom.  Thus  amid  light  and  shadow 
sunshine  and  storm,  aided  by  both  and  by  its  entire 
environment,  the  New  Life  in  Christ  makes  progress. 

This  blessed  experience  is  complete  proof  that  man's 
entire  environment,  near  and  remote,  is  from  God.  For 
this  harmonious  and  far-reaching  co-operation  of  forces 
and  influences  so  diverse  cannot  be  a  mere  fortunate 
accident.  It  is  manifestly  designed  :  and  the  Designer 
can  be  no  other  than  the  intelligent  Author  of  the 
universe.  Thus  the  moral  and  spiritual  benefits  actually 
derived  by  the  servants  of  Christ  from  their  material 
surroundings  are  additional  evidence  that  the  material 
universe  is  an  offspring  of  an  intelligent  and  righteous 
Creator.     That  matter  aids  the  highest  development  of 


196  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  [Part  III 

mind,  is  decisive  proof  that  matter  sprang  from  Mind. 
To  know  that  the  compHcated  tissue  of  forces  and 
influences  around,  at  whose  mercy  we  seem  to  be,  is 
from  God  as  a  part  of  His  eternal  purpose  of  mercy  to 
us,  and  is  working  out  that  purpose,  is  to  be  at  peace 
amid  the  storms  of  life  and  under  the  shadow  of  death. 

It  is  now  evident  that,  to  those  who  put  faith  in 
Christ  and  yield  themselves  to  the  controlling  and 
moulding  influence  of  His  love,  the  world  around  is 
altogether  changed  ;  or  rather  its  aspect  is  so  completely 
changed  that  its  practical  influence  is  also  changed. 
Once  the  world  around,  material  and  human,  was  their 
lord.  Upon  the  smile  of  their  fellows  and  upon  the 
chances  of  fortune  hung  their  highest  interests.  And 
this  dependence  on  their  environment  was  a  degrading 
bondage.  Now  all  is  changed.  They  have  learned 
the  secret  of  the  universe.  They  have  seen  the  hand 
of  a  Father  in  heaven  controlling  and  guiding  the 
forces  of  nature  and  of  the  social  life  of  men,  forces  so 
mighty,  sometimes  apparently  .so  destructive  ;  and  they 
know  now  that  all  these  things  are  their  servants  for 
good.  This  discovery  has  broken  the  material  and 
social  fetters  under  vv'hich  formerly  they  lay  bound,  and 
has  made  them  free  indeed.  This  change  has  come 
through  the  Gospel  of  Christ ;  and  therefore,  as  we  saw 
in  my  last  volume,  through  His  death  upon  the  cross. 
We  can  therefore  say  with  Paul,  in  Gal.  vi.  14,  pointing 
to  a  vanquished  enemy  and  lord,  and  to  the  cross  on 
which  Christ  died,  "  Through  which  to  mc  the  world  is 
crucified,  and   I  to  the  world."     For  through   His  death 


Lect.  XXI]       ITS  RELATION   TO   THINGS  AROUND  197 


the  world  has  lost  its  power  over  them,  and  their  old 
life  of  bondage  has  ceased.  Or,  they  may  say,  as  in 
2  Cor.  V.  17,  "  If  anyone  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new 
creature ;  the  old  things  have  passed  away,  behold 
they  have  become  new." 

We  have  now  seen  that  the  New  Life,  by  putting 
man  right  with  God,  has  put  him  right  with  all  else.  To 
the  unsaved,  within  and  around  them  was  discord,  con- 
fusion, and  ruin  ;  each  pursuing  his  own  selfish  aim,  and 
therefore  different  aims,  and  thus  coming  into  collision 
each  against  others.  But  they  who,  led  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  have  felt  the  magic  power  of  the  manifested  love 
of  Christ  and  have  thus  been  drawn  to  Him  in  loyal 
devotion,  have  by  their  loyalty  to  the  one  Lord  been 
united,  each  to  others,  in  harmonious  co-operation. 
Although  surrounded  by  influences  tending  to  sin,  in- 
fluences strengthened  by  their  own  past  indulgence  in  sin, 
they  are  preserved  from  sin  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  dwelling  in  their  hearts.  The  Law,  which  they 
once  deliberately  or  carelessly  broke,  or  painfully  and 
vainly  endeavoured  to  keep  while  it  condemned  them 
for  past  disobedience,  has  now  become  a  lamp  to  their 
feet  and  a  light  to  their  path,  and  a  song  in  the  house  of 
their  pilgrimage.  For  the  Spirit  who  wrote  that  Law  in 
the  Moral  Sense  of  all  men,  and  guided  the  writers  of 
the  Sacred  Books  of  Israel,  dwells  in  their  hearts  as  the 
animating  principle  of  a  new  life.  And  the  universe 
around,  under  whose  tyranny  they  once  trembled,  is  now 
seen  to  be  to  them  a  minister  of  God  for  good. 


LECTURE   XXII 

THE   CHRISTIAN  CONFLICT 

TN  the  foregoing  lectures,  the  New  Life  has  been 
-L  represented  as  a  supernatural  inbreathing  from 
God,  and  the  believer  has  been  in  the  main  repre- 
sented as  passive  and  receptive.  We  saw,  however,  in 
Lect  XV.,  that  this  divine  inbreathing  evokes  in  man 
the  intelligent  and  ceaseless  activity  of  loyal  service  to 
Christ,  showing  itself  in  efforts  to  save  those  for  whom 
He  died  and  to  build  up  the  eternal  Kingdom  of  God. 
We  shall  now  find  that  it  evokes  also  the  intense  effort  of 
personal  spiritual  conflict.  This  conflict  and  the  conse- 
quent victory  are  a  needful  counterpart  to  the  picture 
given  in  the  last  lecture. 

In  Luke  xiii.  24  our  Lord  exhorts  "Strive  (a7&)v/feo-^e, 
literally  agonize,  i.e.  contend  as  an  athlete  against  an 
antagonist)  to  enter  in  through  the  narrow  door  ;  because 
many  will  seek  to  enter  in  and  will  not  have  strength." 
This  implies  that  the  blessings  "promised  by  Christ  are 
to  be  obtained  only  by  strenuous  personal  effort. 

Similar  teaching  is  very  common  with  Paul.  So 
Phil.  ii.  12  :  "  work  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and 

trembling."    These  last  words  suggest  anxious  care,  as  in 

198 


Lect.  XXII]  THE   CHRISTIAN  CONFLICT  199 

a  matter  serious  and  difficult.  This  element  of  Paul's 
teaching  is  frequently  embodied  in  a  favourite  metaphor 
taken  from  the  Greek  athletic  contests,  a  metaphor 
suggested  in  Luke  xiii.  24.  A  good  example  is  found 
in  I  Cor.  ix.  23-27.  Paul  says  that  he  uses  all  sorts  of 
efforts  to  save  others  in  order  that  he  may  himself  share 
the  blessings  of  the  Gospel,  implying  that  upon  his 
efforts  to  save  others  depends  his  own  salvation.  This 
he  explains  by  saying  that  both  his  readers  and  himself 
are  athletes  contending  for  a  "  crown  "  or  garland  ;  and 
reminds  them  that  every  athlete  makes  everything  bow 
to  this  object.  The  words  "  in  all  things  self-controlled  " 
refer  probably  to  the  ten  months  of  training  during 
which  the  athlete  submitted  to  severe  regimen  in  order 
to  fit  himself  for  the  contest.  Paul  finds  an  adversary 
in  his  own  body,  which  last  he  leads  about  like  a  slave 
lest  even  he,  a  herald,  be  rejected  as  unworthy  of  the 
prize.  In  Phil.  iii.  12-14,  ^^'^  have  a  picture  of  Paul  as 
a  racer  pressing  forward,  forgetting  all  else,  to  the  goal. 
So  I  Tim.  vi.  12:  "contend  the  good  contest  of  the 
faith  ;  lay  hold  of  the  life  eternal."  This  implies  that 
eternal  life  can  be  obtained  only  as  the  athlete  gains  a 
prize,  viz.  by  personal  conflict  and  victory.  In  2  Tim. 
iv.  8,  Paul  speaks  of  the  conflict  as  over :  "  the  good 
contest  I  have  contended,  the  course  I  have  finished, 
the  faith  I  have  kept ;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me 
the  crown  of  righteousness." 

In  the  athletic  contests  of  Greece,  a  chief  factor  was 
the  antagonist  or  competitor.  Only  by  victory  over 
another    who    sought    to   take   away    the    prize,    could 


200  THE    WAY  OF  HOLINESS  Part  III 

the  prize  be  won.  So  in  Eph.  vi.  12  Paul  reminds  his 
readers  that  they  are  wrestling  against  superhuman 
opponents.  In  view  of  these  antagonists,  he  somewhat 
changes  the  metaphor  and  bids  them  put  on  the  armour 
provided  by  God.  This  military  metaphor  meets  us 
again  in  2  Tim.  ii.  3,4:  "  endure  hardship  as  a  good 
soldier  of  Jesus  Christ."  The  change  emphasises  the 
element  common  to  the  two  metaphors,  viz.  intense 
effort  against  a  terrible  antagonist. 

The  Christian  race  is  mentioned  in  Heb.  xii.  i.  The 
antagonist  appears  again  in  i  Peter  v.  8,  9  :  "  be  sober, 
be  watchful  ;  your  adversary  the  Devil,  as  a  roaring 
lion,  walks  about  seeking  whom  he  may  devour ;  whom 
resist,  steadfast  by  faith." 

The  same  idea  of  conflict  with  a  personal  foe  finds 
expression  in  the  words  "  overcome  the  wicked  one " 
in  I  John  ii.  13,  14;  and  "overcome  the  world"  in 
ch.  v.  4,  5.  The  word  overcome  is  conspicuous  by  its 
repetition  in  Rev.  ii.  7,  11,  17,  26,  iii.  5,  12,  21,  at  the 
close  of  each  of  the  seven  letters  to  the  Churches  in 
Asia.  It  occurs  also  in  the  same  connection  of  thought 
in  Rev.  xii.  11,  xv.  2,  xxi.  7.  A  stronger  form  of  the 
same  word  is  found  in  Rom.  viii.  37,  "  we  more  than 
overcome  \'  and  a  cognate  word  in  i  Cor.  xv.  57,  "Who 
gives  us  the  victory!' 

Thus  in  the  various  types  of  New  Testament  teaching 
the  New  Life  is  depicted,  with  conspicuous  and  emphatic 
repetition,  as  a  strenuous  effort  evoked  by  conflict 
against  personal  and  tremendous  antagonists. 

This  picture  is  confirmed  by  our  own  experience.     In 


Lect.  XXII]  THE   CHRISTIAN  CONFLICT  201 

our  efforts  to  do  right  and  to  advance  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  we  meet  resistance  from  our  general  environment, 
from  our  fellows,  and  in  our  own  hearts.  The  moralists 
of  all  ages  have  depicted  the  path  of  righteousness  as 
beset  by  foes.  And  still  more  terrible  opposition  has 
stood  in  the  path  of  those  who  have  endeavoured  to  win 
the  world  for  Christ.  The  severity  of  this  opposition 
suggests  irresistibly  that  it  is  supported  by  superhuman 
enemies  of  God  and  man.  In  this  conviction,  the 
language  of  the  New  Testament  has  been  re-echoed  by 
the  servants  of  God  in  all  ages. 

Fortunately,  in  this  conflict,  the  Christian  believer 
does  not  stand  alone.  The  superhuman  antagonists  are 
met  and  overcome  by  superhuman  help.  So  i  John 
iv.  4 :  "ye  have  overcome  them  ;  because  greater  is  He 
that  is  in  you  than  he  that  is  in  the  world."  Also  i  Cor. 
XV.  57,  "to  God  be  thanks,  who  gives  us  the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  : "  and  Rom.  viii.  37, 
"  we  more  than  overcome  through  Him  that  loved  us." 
The  two  elements  are  placed  conspicuously  side  by  side 
in  Phil  ii.  12,  13:  "work  out  your  own  salvation;  for 
God  it  is  who  works  in  you."  Speaking  of  his  own 
apostolic  work,  Paul  says  in  Col.  i.  29,  "  for  which  end  I 
also  labour,  striving  (literally  agonizing,  as  in  i  Tim. 
vi.  12,  Luke  xiii.  24)  according  to  His  working  which 
works  in  me  with  power."  Like  all  else  in  the  New 
Life,  this  victory  is  a  result  of  the  death  of  Christ,  and 
is  conditioned  by  faith.  So  Rev.  xii.  1 1,  "  they  overcame 
him  because  of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb :  "  and  I  John 
V.  4,  5,  "this    is    the    victory    which    has    overcome    the 


202  THE   WAY  OF  HOLINESS  [Part  III 

world,  even  our  faith  :  "  Eph.  vi.  i6,  "  the  shield  of  faith, 
with  which  ye  will  be  able  to  quench  all  the  burning 
darts  of  the  wicked  one." 

This  latter  teaching  changes  altogether  the  whole 
aspect  of  the  moral  conflict ;  just  as  in  Christ  the 
believer's  relation  to  the  moral  Law  and  to  his  environ- 
ment is  changed.  In  days  gone  by,  the  conflict  was 
unavailing  revolt  against  a  deadly  despotism.  Referring 
to  his  former  life  as  a  devout  Pharisee,  Paul  writes  in 
Rom.  vii.  23,  "  I  see  another  law  in  the  members  of  my 
body  carrying  on  war  against  the  law  of  my  mind  and 
taking  me  captive  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  the 
members  of  my  body.  Wretched  man  am  I.  Who 
will  rescue  me  ? "  This  cry  has  been  changed  into 
"  thanks  to  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  The 
fight  continues.  But  it  has  become  a  march  of  triumph. 
The  real  conflict  was  decided  long  ago  in  Christ  It  is 
our  privilege  now  to  appropriate  day  by  day  the  vic- 
tory then  gained. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  keep  ever  and 
equally  in  view  these  two  aspects  of  the  Christian 
conflict.  We  are  still  in  an  enemy's  country.  In  every 
object  around  us,  and  in  our  own  wayward  hearts,  foes 
lie  in  ambush  ever  ready  to  ensnare  and  destroy  us. 
We  therefore  need  constant  watchfulness.  But  we  watch 
as  for  conquered  and  powerless  foes.  For,  from  another 
point  of  view,  the  battle  is  over.  It  was  finished  when 
the  Conqueror  returned  to  His  home  on  high.  We  there- 
fore day  by  day  go  down  into  conflict  against  enemies 
mightier  than  ourselves  with  perfect    confidence.     For 


Lect,  XXII]  THE   CHRISTIAN   CONFLICT  203 

we  are  guarded  by  the  power  of  God.  The  only  question 
now  is,  not  whether  we  can  overcome  by  any  moral 
resolution  of  our  own,  but  whether  we  can  venture  to 
accept  the  promise  of  victory.  Then  are  we  more  than 
conquerors. 

The  complete  victory  given  by  Christ  to  those  who 
believe  in  Him,  fills  them,  even  in  the  midst  of  conflict, 
with  profound  peace.  We  are  at  peace  because  under- 
neath us  are  everlasting  arms.  This  is  "  the  peace  of 
God."  For  it  is  not  only  His  gift  but  an  overflow  of  the 
eternal  calm  which  fills  the  breast  of  God.  And,  being 
divine  in  its  source,  it  "  passes  all  understanding  "  of  those 
who  observe,  and  even  of  those  who  experience  it.  For 
it  is  often  found  in  circumstances  which  seem  to  make 
peace  impossible.  Moreover,  to  use  a  military  metaphor, 
it  "  guards  the  heart,"  the  inmost  source  of  purpose  and 
action,  "and  the  mind,"  the  home  often  of  troubled 
thoughts.  For  they  who  are  kept  in  peace  by  the  power 
of  God  are  safe  from  many  spiritual  dangers  which  injure 
others.     And  this  rest  is  "  in  Christ  Jesus." 

Thus  is  the  Christian  life,  looked  at  from  one  point  of 
view,  a  conflict  sometimes  very  fierce ;  and,  from  another 
point  of  view,  profound  peace.  This  peace  is  the  rest  of 
victory  won  for  us  by  Christ,  victory  over  His  foes  and 
ours.  It  is  the  beginning,  and  the  pledge,  of  our  eternal 
rest  ;  the  dawn  of  the  eternal  day,  and  the  glad  harbinger 
of  the  sunrise. 


LECTURE   XXIII 

PERSEVERANCE   IN   THE   NEW  LIFE 

IN  the  midst  of  the  conflict  of  life  Paul  looked  forward 
with  joyful  confidence,  as  all  his  epistles  attest,  to 
final  victory  over  all  enemies  and  to  entrance  into  the 
eternal  Kingdom  of  God.  So  Rom.  v.  2,  "  we  exult  in 
hope  of  the  glory  of  God  ;  "  ch.  viii.  18,  ''  the  sufferings  of 
the  present  season  are  of  no  worth  in  view  of  the  glory 
which  will  be  revealed  in  us  ;  "  Phil.  i.  6,  "  being  confident 
of  this  very  thing,  that  He  who  has  begun  in  you  a 
good  work  will  complete  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus 
Christ ;"  2  Tim.  iv.  18,  "the  Lord  will  rescue  me  from 
every  evil  work,  and  will  save  me  into  His  heavenly 
Kingdom." 

This  salvation  is,  as  we  have  already  learned  in 
Lect  XVI.,  from  the  first  turning  to  God  till  final  victory, 
altogether  a  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  man.  But  we 
have  also  seen  in  Lect.  XVII.  that  it  is  conditional  on 
man's  faith,  i.e.  on  his  self-surrender  to  divine  influences 
leading  up  to  repentance  and  faith.  That  this  self- 
surrender  is  not  a  result  of  irresistible  influences  but  is 
conditioned  only  by  man's  free  choice,  is  attested,  as  we 

shall  see  in  Part  IV.,  by  our  own  self-condemnation  for 

204 


Lect.  XXIIl]       PERSEVERANCE  IN   THE  NEW  LIFE  205 

not  having  earlier  yielded  to  divine  influences  of  which 
we  were  conscious,  but  which  we  resisted  ;  and  by  our 
entire  estimate  of  ourselves  and  others.  This  inference 
is  also  implied  in  many  warnings  running  throughout 
the  Bible. 

Paul  teaches  also  that,  not  only  entrance  into,  but 
continuance  in,  the  New  Life  depends  upon  ourselves 
and  upon  our  continued  faith  ;  that  it  is  terribly  possible 
that  they  who  have  once  enjoyed  actual  spiritual  life 
may  yet  fall  away  and  finally  perish.  And,  in  this,  he  is 
supported  by  the  recorded  words  of  Christ. 

In  Rom.  xi.  20-23  Paul  teaches  that  some  of  the 
twigs  of  the  olive  tree  were  broken  off  because  of  their 
unbelief,  and  that  his  readers  stand  by  faith.  He  bids 
them  not  to  think  high  things  but  to  fear,  and  warns 
that  He  who  did  not  spare  the  natural  branches  will  not 
spare  them  if  they  do  not  continue  in  His  kindness  ; 
and  adds  that,  if  the  unbelieving  ones  do  not  continue 
in  their  unbelief,  God  will  restore  them.  Now  Paul's 
unbelieving  countrymen  were  certainly  in  peril  of  final 
ruin.  For  no  less  peril  would  prompt  Paul,  on  their 
behalf,  almost  to  wish  himself  separated  from  Christ. 
And  their  fall  is  held  up  to  his  readers  as  a  warning  of 
what  will  befall  them  if  they  do  not  continue  in  faith. 
Yet  the  Roman  Christians,  to  whom  Paul  writes,  are 
assumed  to  have  actual  spiritual  life.  For  they  have 
been  "  reconciled  to  God,"  and  have  "  received  the  Spirit 
of  adoption,"  who  "  bears  witness  that  we  are  children  of 
God  :  "  chs.  v.  10,  viii.  16.  Otherwise  they  would  perish 
whether   they    continue    ur    not.       The    whole    warning 


2o6  PERSEVERANCE  [Part  III 

implies  that  the  readers'  final  salvation  depends  upon 
their  maintaining  their  present  spiritual  position  ;  and 
that  it  is  possible  for  them  to  fall  from  it  and  perish. 

In  I  Cor,  ix.  23  Paul  writes  that  he  uses  all  means  to 
save  all  he  can  in  order  to  be  himself  a  sharer,  with  his 
converts,  of  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel.  This  can  only 
mean  that  his  own  salvation  depends  upon  his  fidelity  to 
his  divine  vocation.  He  speaks  (vv.  24-27)  of  his  readers 
and  himself  as  athletes  contending  for  a  prize ;  and  is 
influenced  by  a  fear  that,  after  having  preached  to 
others,  he  may  himself  be  rejected.  The  warning 
implied  in  this  fear,  Paul  supports  in  ch.  x.  1-12  by  the 
example  of  ancient  Israel,  of  whom  all  passed  the  Red 
Sea  but  very  few  entered  the  promised  land.  Upon 
these  examples  he  bases  a  final  warning,  "  let  him  that 
thinks  that  he  stands  beware  lest  he  fall."  This  warning, 
like  the  last,  would  have  no  meaning  if  the  possession  of 
actual  spiritual  life  necessarily  ensured  final  salvation. 

SimJlar  teaching  is  in  John  xv.  6  traced  to  the  lips  of 
Christ :  "  If  any  one  abide  not  in  Me,  he  has  been  cast 
outside  like  the  branch  and  become  withered  ;  and  they 
are  gathering  them  and  casting  them  into  the  fire  and 
they  are  burning."  These  branches  must  have  had 
actual  spiritual  life  ;  for,  as  above,  all  depends  upon 
continuance  in  their  present  state.  Moreover,  every 
dead  branch  has  once  been  living.  The  branches  cannot 
be  mere  outward  professors.  For  such  will  perish 
whether  they  continue  or  not. 

The  above  teaching  is  balanced  by  that  in  John  x.  28: 
"  they  shall  never  perish,  and  no  one  shall  snatch  them 


Lect.  XXIII]  IN  THE  NEW  LIFE  207 


out  of  My  hand."  This  passage  is  easily  harmonised 
with  that  quoted  above.  For  it  refers  evidently  to  sheep 
of  the  flock  of  Christ ;  and  asserts  that  no  hostile 
violence  will  tear  them  from  Christ.  Just  so  Paul  says 
in  Rom.  viii.  38  that  neither  death  nor  life  can  separate 
us  from  the  love  of  God.  But  nothing  is  said  here 
about  the  possibility  of  a  sheep  wandering  away  from 
the  flock,  and  thus  perishing.  Similarly,  the  terrible 
doom  pronounced  in  Rev.  xxi.  8  against  "  all  the  liars  " 
does  not  shut  out  the  possibility  that  those  guilty  of 
falsehood  may  turn  from  it  and  be  saved. 

It  is  now  evident  that  the  New  Life  in  Christ,  which 
is  from  beginning  to  end  a  work  of  God  in  man,  is  never- 
theless altogether  conditional,  both  in  its  beginning  and 
continuance,  upon  man's  faith,  i.e.  upon  his  voluntary 
surrender  to  divine  influences  which,  if  yielded  to,  will 
lead  him  to  life.  Consequently,  the  Christian  life  is  an 
intermingling  of  confidence  and  salutary  fear.  We  rest 
in  Christ  to-day.  And  we  know  that  no  hostile  power 
can  force  us  from  Him.  The  peace  of  God  guards  our 
hearts  and  minds  in  Christ.  Therefore  we  are  safe. 
But  we  know  that  if  we  were  to  leave  our  impregnable 
refuge  we  should  fall  a  prey  to  our  adversaries.  We  are 
therefore  ever  on  our  guard  against  whatever  would 
decoy  us  from  it. 

We  now  see  the  intense  reality  of  the  Christian  con- 
flict described  in  Lect.  XXII.  Upon  our  faithfulness  in 
it  depends  our  eternal  salvation. 


15 


LECTURE   XXIV. 

SPIRITUAL    GROWTH, 

WE  have  now  learnt  that  God  receives  into  His 
favour,  and  into  His  family  as  sons,  all  who 
believe  the  good  news  announced  by  Christ  ;  that  He 
gives  to  them  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  to  be  in  them  the 
animating  principle  of  a  new  life  of  victory  over  sin 
and  of  unreserved  devotion  to  God  like  the  devotion  of 
Christ  to  God  ;  and  that  this  purpose  is  realised  in  them 
by  faith,  and  in  proportion  to  their  faith.  We  have  also 
learned  that  continuance  in  the  New  Life  and  entrance 
into  the  eternal  Kingdom  of  God  are  conditioned  on 
continued  faith.  It  now  remains  to  show  that,  according 
to  the  teaching  of  Paul,  which  in  this  point  is  verified  in 
the  experience  of  all  earnest  servants  of  Christ,  these 
blessings,  which  may  be  in  a  measure  appropriated  at 
once  by  faith,  receive  their  development  by  continuous 
growth. 

In  many  cases  the  faith  which  appropriates  justifica- 
tion is  itself  a  gradual  growth.  By  degrees  men  venture 
to  accept,  and  apply  to  themselves,  and  appropriate,  the 
great  truth  that  God  receives  into  His  favour  all  who 

put  faith  in  Christ,  and  that  therefore   He  now  receives 

208 


Lect.  XXIV]  SPIRITUAL   GROWTH  209 

them.  In  other  cases,  the  Hght  streams  in  almost  at 
once.  But  probably  in  every  case  there  has  been  a 
gradual  preparation  for  this  sudden  illumination.  Still 
more  gradual,  usually,  is  the  apprehension  and  appro- 
priation and  realisation  of  the  more  wonderful  truth  that 
God,  who  claims  the  unreserved  devotion  of  all  His 
servants,  works  in  them  by  His  Spirit  and  by  inward 
contact  with  Christ,  here  and  now,  the  devotion  He 
claims.  But,  be  this  truth  ever  so  fully  and  firmly 
grasped,  it  leaves  room  for,  and  demands,  a  continuous 
and  progressive  further  apprehension.  And,  whenever 
and  however  grasped,  its  apprehension  creates  a  definite 
stage  of  spiritual  growth. 

The  definiteness  of  this  stage  of  development  in 
Christ  is  suggested  by  the  Greek  aorist  tense  in  i  Thess. 
V.  23,  "  may  the  God  of  peace  Himself  sanctify  you  all 
complete;"  in  2  Cor.  vii.  i,  "let  us  cleanse  ourselves 
from  all  pollution  ;  "  and  in  Rom.  xii.  i,  "  I  exhort  you 
.  .  .  to //Yi"^/?/ your  bodies  a  sacrifice,  living,  holy,  accept- 
able to  God."  That  all  these  exhortations  are  addressed 
to  persons  recognised  as  justified  and  adopted  sons  of 
God  and  as  already  possessing  the  Spirit  of  God,  proves 
that  they  describe  a  higher  stage  of  spiritual  life,  and 
one  sufficiently  definite  to  be  an  object  of  thought  and 
faith.  This  higher  stage  involves  growth  in  the  New 
Life. 

Writing  to  his  young  converts  at  Thessalonica,  from 
whom  he  had  been  suddenly  snatched  away,  Paul 
describes  himself  in  i  Thess.  iii.  10  as  "begging  to  see 
your  face,  and  to  equip  fully  the  deficiencies  of  your  faith." 


2IO  SPIRITUAL   GROWTH  [Part  III 

The  word  rendered  "equip-fully"  denotes  {e.g.  Matt.  iv.  21) 
complete  fitting  out  for  work.  The  faith  of  the  Thessa- 
lonican  Christians  was  already  real  and  active  :  for  Paul 
speaks  in  ch.  i.  3  of  their  "  work  of  faith."  But  it  was 
capable  of,  and  needed,  a  firmer  grasp  and  wider  com- 
pass to  embrace  in  wider  measure,  and  more  fully  to 
appropriate,  the  purposes  and  promises  of  God.  And  in 
this  broadening  and  strengthening  of  his  readers'  faith, 
Paul  hopes  to  help  them.  A  hoped-for  result  of  this 
development  of  their  faith  is  described  m  v,  12  :  "  may 
the  Lord  make  you  to  abound  in  love  one  to  another 
and  to  all  men."  Paul  thus  prays  that  Christ  may  work 
in  his  readers  an  abundant  development  of  the  unique 
Christian  virtue  of  love,  a  love  embracing  both  fellow- 
Christians  and  the  whole  race.  He  thus  indicates  a  line 
along  which  the  servants  of  Christ  may  seek,  and  may 
expect,  unlimited  progress. 

News  from  Thessalonica  assured  the  gladdened  heart 
of  Paul  that  his  prayer  for  his  readers  was  not  in  vain. 
So  2  Thess.  i.  3  :  "  we  ought  to  thank  God  always  on 
your  behalf .  .  .  because  your  faith  increases  beyond 
measure  and  the  love  of  each  one  of  you  all  increases." 
We  have  here,  still  going  on,  actual  progress  both  in 
faith  and  love. 

In  Rom.  i.  II,  Paul  writes  to  the  Roman  Christians, 
"  I  long  to  see  you,  in  order  that  1  may  impart  to  you 
some  spiritual  gift,  in  order  that  ye  may  be  established." 
Such  spiritual  gifts,  producing  stability  in  the  New  Life, 
involve  spiritual  growth.  Already,  on  p.  179,  we  have 
found  in   Rom.  viii..i3,  "ye  are  putting  to  death   the 


Lect.  XXIV]  SPIRITUAL   GROWTH  211 

actions  of  the  body,"  a  gradual  destruction  of  the  inward 
and  hostile  power  of  sin.  This  reveals  and  involves 
spiritual  growth.  And  all  spiritual  growth  weakens 
the  power  of  sin.  For  the  Spirit  of  God,  permeating 
and  moulding  more  and  more  our  entire  thought  and 
life,  reveals  with  increasing  clearness  the  essential  evil 
and  hideousness  of  sin,  and  thus  destroys  its  power  to 
deceive  us.  Moreover,  every  good  act  tends  -to  form 
a  right  habit,  and  thus  to  weaken  contrary  habits. 
There  is  no  surer  mark  of  mature  spiritual  life  than 
an  increasing  sensitiveness  to,  and  recoil  from,  every 
form  of  evil. 

In  Phil.  i.  6  Paul  expresses  a  confident  hope  that  He 
who  has  begun  in  the  readers  a  good  work  will  complete 
it.     This  reminds  us  that  all  spiritual  life  on  earth  is  but 
a  beginning  of  something  which  needs  completion  ;  and 
assures  us  that  He  who  has  begun  will  continue  and 
complete.     The  completion  required  is  further  described 
in  V.  9,  where  Paul  prays  that  his  readers'  "  love  may 
more  and  more  abound  in  understanding  and  all  percep- 
tion," with  the  further  aim  that  they  may   "  put  to  the 
test "  and  thus  approve    "  the    more    excellent   things." 
A  still  further  aim  is  stated  in  vv.  loi?,  11,  viz.  that  this 
spiritual  intelligence  may  mould  their  character,  giving 
spiritual  security  and  a  rich  harvest  of  blessing :    "  that 
ye  may  be  sincere  and  without  stumbling  till  the  day  of 
Christ,  filled  with  fruit  of  righteousness."     We  have  here 
definite   mention   of  an   increase  of  knowledge,  a  con- 
spicuous feature  of  this  passage  and  of  this  Third  Group 
of  Epistles  as  compared  with  i  Thess.  iii.  10.    We  notice 


212  SPIRITUAL   GROWTH  [Part  III 

that  love  always  tends  to  develop  intelligence,  for  we  use 
our  best  intelligence  for  those  we  love.  And  intelligence 
increases  immensely  the  practical  value  of  love. 

In  Phil.  iii.  12  Paul  gives  a  graphic  picture  of  his  own 
spiritual  progress.  He  does  not  look  upon  himself  as 
having  "  already  obtained  "  what  he  desires,  or  as  having 
already  reached  his  goal.  Like  a  racer  he  is  pressing 
on,  to  grasp  something  as  yet  beyond  him,  to  lay  hold 
of  that  for  which  Christ  has  laid  hold  of  him.  Forgetting 
all  present  acquirements,  he  presses  forward,  with  a 
racer's  intense  effort,  to  grasp  the  prize.  These  words 
imply  that  the  normal  state  of  the  servants  of  Christ  is 
progress  resulting  from  intense  and  sustained  effort  in 
one  direction. 

In  Eph.  iv.  13,  14  we  have  "a  full-grown  man  "  con- 
trasted with  "  babes."  These  last  are  described  as 
"  tossed  like  waves  and  carried  about  by  every  wind  of 
teaching  in  the  craft  of  men."  But  the  ascended  Christ 
gave  to  His  Church  the  various  orders  of  pastors  and 
teachers,  for  its  full  equipment,  and  in  order  that,  speak- 
ing truth  in  love,  we  may  grow  up  into  Him  in  all 
things,  from  whom  as  Head,  and  by  the  mutual  help  of 
the  various  members,  the  whole  body  grows  and  builds 
up  itself  in  love.  The  phrase  "  grow  into  Christ " 
suggests  that  spiritual  development  places  us  in  closer 
union  with  our  Lord. 

The  sublime  prayer  in  Eph,  iii.  14-19,  on  behalf  of 
men  already  made  alive  and  brought  near  through 
Christ,  marks  out  the  direction  of  spiritual  growth. 
As   links   in    that    chain    of  blessing,  we  note  a  fuller 


Lect.  XXIV]  SPIRITUAL  GROWTH  213 


comprehension   of  Christ's   love   to   us,    resulting  in    a 
fulness  tending  towards  the  fulness  of  God. 

In  Heb.  v.  12-14  we  have  again  (cp.  i  Cor.  iii.  2)  the 
contrast  of  babes  requiring  milk  and  full  grown  men 
needing  solid  food.  The  food  required  is  specified  : 
"  because  of  the  time  ye  ought  to  be  teachers  ;  yet  ye 
have  need  to  be  taught  which  are  the  rudiments  of  the 
beginning  of  the  oracles  of  God."  This  reminds  us  that, 
as  with  children,  so  with  the  servants  of  Christ,  health 
is  accompanied  by  growth. 

From  the  above  teaching  we  learn  that  faith  in  Christ 
is  capable  of  increase  as  it  embraces  more  and  more 
extensively,  and  grasps  more  firmly,  the  promises  of 
God.  This  increasing  faith  reveals  with  increasing 
clearness  the  love  of  God  manifested  in  the  death  of 
Christ,  and  thus  evokes  increasing  love  to  Him  who  first 
loved  us.  The  love  thus  revealed  will  be  enriched  with 
increasing  perception  of  moral  distinctions  and  of  the 
purposes  of  God  for  man  ;  for  faith  is  the  hand  which 
takes  hold  of  all  the  revelations  of  God.  This  growing 
faith  and  intelligence  and  love  will  change  and  raise  our 
whole  nature  ;  and  while  so  doing  will  unite  us  in  closer 
fellowship  with  Christ. 

In  I  John  ii.  12-14,  we  read  of  little  children,  young 
men,  and  fathers,  evidently  successive  grades  in  the 
Christian  life. 

That  the  Four  Gospels  add  nothing  directly  to  the 
above  teaching,  need  not  surprise  us.  Our  Lord  taught 
the  rudimentary  principles  of  the  New  Life,  to  men  in 
whom,  before  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  (cp.  John  vii.  39,) 


214  SPIRITUAL   GROWTH  [Part  III 

that  life  was  necessarily  immature.  But  His  teaching 
involves  and  suggests  growth.  Further  teaching  was  left, 
as  need  should  arise,  to  the  Spirit  whom  the  departing 
Son  promised  to  His  disciples.  The  Book  of  Acts  tells 
the  story  of  the  founding  of  the  various  Churches,  but 
does  not  say  much  about  the  progressive  development  of 
individuals.  This  was  for  the  more  part  left  to  the  great 
Apostle  who  cared  for  his  many  converts  as  a  father  for 
the  education  of  his  children  ;  and  who,  while  dealing 
with  the  many  details  of  actual  church  life,  gives 
incidentally  most  important  teaching  about  the  spiritual 
growth  of  the  servants  of  Christ. 


LECTURE   XXV 

THE  MEANS   OF  GRACE.      PRAYER 

WE  have  learnt  in  Lect.  XVI.  that  the  New  Life 
in  Christ  is  breathed  into  and  maintained  in 
man  by  God  through  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
We  come  now  to  consider  certain  special  channels 
appointed  by  God  to  be  the  ordinary  avenues  through 
which  this  new  life  is  received  and  sustained  and 
developed.  We  shall  find  that,  just  as  there  are  definite 
organs  through  which  the  spirit  of  man  communicates 
with  others,  so  are  there  special  channels  through  which 
God  imparts  to  men  spiritual  blessing. 

We  have  seen  that  faith  is  a  condition  of  all  the 
benefits  of  the  New  Covenant.  Now,  faith  in  God 
implies  that  God  has  spoken  to  man,  and  that  the  Word 
of  God  has  been  brought  to  the  ears  and  intelligence  of 
the  believer.  Hence  Paul  asks  in  Rom.  x.  14,  "  How 
are  they  to  believe  Him  whom  they  have  not  heard  ? 
But  how  are  they  to  hear  without  a  preacher?"  Chief 
therefore  among  the  means  of  grace  must  be  the  pro- 
clamation of  the  good  news  of  salvation.  Consequently, 
as  recorded  in  Mark  xvi.  15,  Christ  bade  the  Apostles 
"proclaim  the  Gospel  to  the  whole  creation."     So  Paul 


2i6  THE  MEANS   OF  GRACE  [Part  III 

in  I  Cor.  i.  23,  "  we  proclaim  Christ  crucified  ; "  and  in 
V.  21,  "God  was  pleased  by  means  of  the  foolishness  of 
the  proclamation  to  save  those  that  believe."  Similarly 
V.  \2>:  "the  word  of  the  cross  ...  to  us  who  are  being 
saved  is  a  power  of  God." 

Inasmuch  as  the  Gospel  is  complex  and  many-sided, 
its  intelligent  reception  requires  not  only  proclamation 
but  continued  teaching.  Consequently,  Christ  bade  the 
Apostles,  as  recorded  in  Mark  xxviii.  20,  to  bring  all  the 
nations  as  pupils  into  His  school  {iiaOrjTeva-aTe  iruvra  ra 
eOv)]  and  adds  "  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  so 
many  as  I  have  commanded  you."  This  command, 
Paul  describes  himself  in  Col.  i.  28  as  obeying  :  "  Christ, 
whom  we  announce,  instructing  every  man  and  teaching 
every  man  in  all  wisdom,  in  order  that  we  may  present 
every  man  mature  in  Christ."  Here  consecutive  teach- 
ing is  spoken  of  as  a  means  of  Christian  maturity.  And 
in  harmony  with  this  method  of  spiritual  development, 
we  find  in  the  apostolic  churches  teachers,  and  a 
divinely-given  order  of  teachers.  In  the  Church  at 
Antioch,  as  we  read  in  Acts  xiii.  i,  were  "prophets  and 
teachers."  In  i  Cor.  xii.  28  we  read  that  "  God  put  in 
the  Church,  first  apostles,  secondly  prophets,  thirdly 
teachers."  And  again  in  Eph.  iv.  11,  of  the  risen 
Saviour  we  read,  "  Himself  gave  the  apostles,  the 
prophets,  the  evangelists,  the  pastors  and  teachers." 

To  those  who  have  not  before  heard  it,  the  first 
announcement  of  the  Gospel  brings  the  truth  revealed  in 
Christ  to  bear  upon  the  mind  and  heart.  Subsequent 
teaching  widens  and  deepens  the  impression  thus  made. 


Lect.  XXV]  THE  MEANS   OF  GRACE  217 

Since  the  truth  revealed  under  the  Old  Covenant  and 
that  revealed  in  Christ  have  permanent  embodiment  in 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  careful  study  of  Holy 
Scripture  has  been  in  all  ages  a  rich  nourishment  of  the 
spiritual  life.  Through  the  silent  page  God  speaks  to 
the  devout  student,  and  through  the  written  word  His 
power  works  in  us,  enriching  and  strengthening.  We 
thus  sit,  not  only  at  the  feet  of  the  Apostles,  but  at  the 
feet  of  Christ.  By  giving  to  us,  through  the  agency  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  prompting  and  guarding  the  writers, 
correct  records  cf  the  teaching  of  Christ  and  authorita- 
tive expositions  of  that  teaching  by  the  Apostles,  and 
various  literary  embodiments  of  spiritual  life  under  the 
Old  Covenant,  God  ordained  the  study  of  Holy  Scripture 
to  be  an  all-important  means  of  grace. 

Closely  related  to  the  preached  and  written  word  are 
the  two  rites  ordained  by  Christ  for  all  His  servants, 
which,  as  visible  embodiments  of  important  Gospel  truth, 
we  may  speak  of  as  the  symbolic  word.  Christ  ordained 
the  Lord's  Supper  to  be  a  memorial  of  His  approaching 
death  ;  and,  while  giving  the  command  to  bring  the 
nations  into  His  school,  He  bade  His  disciples  to  baptize 
them.  These  plain  commands  made  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  imperative  on  all  the  servants  of  Christ. 
And,  if  so,  they  must  be  channels  through  which  the 
Spirit  of  God  conveys  supernatural  good  to  men.  A 
fuller  exposition  of  this  benefit  is  reserved  for  my  next 
volume  on  The  CJmrch  of  Christ.  But  thousands  can 
testify  to  great  spiritual  gain  derived  from  the  sacred 
meal  ordained  by  Christ,  and  from  the  important  teach- 


2i8  THE  MEANS   OF  GRACE  [Part  III 

ing  embodied,  whether  administered  to  converts  from 
heathenism  or  to  an  unconscious  infant  of  Christian 
parents,  in  the  rite  of  Baptism. 

In  all  the  above-mentioned  means  of  grace,  revealed 
truth  in  various  forms  is  the  immediate  instrument  used 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  convey  to  man  spiritual  blessing. 
Another  special  and  definite  and  all-important  means  of 
grace,  of  a  different  kind,  yet  closely  related  to  those 
just  mentioned,  now  demands  attention. 

In  all  religions  PRAYER  is  offered  to  an  unseen  Helper. 
Its  wide  prevalence  bears  witness  to  man's  deep  sense 
of  dependence  on  a  superhuman  power  who  is  thus 
accessible  to  man.  It  is  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments. 

As  examples,  I  may  quote  Ex.  xxxii.  II-14,  xxxiii.  23, 
where  Moses  pleads  with  God  for  Israel  when  guilty  of 
a  great  sin,  and  in  answer  to  his  prayer  the  nation  is 
spared  ;  and  Isa.  xxxvii.  14-35,  where,  in  a  time  of  great 
national  peril,  Hezekiah  appeals  to  God  for  help,  and 
his  prayer  is  answered.  The  Old  Testament  contains 
other  similar  cases.  The  Book  of  Psalms  presents  many 
examples  of  earnest  petition  and  supplication,  which 
have  been  most  helpful  in  all  ages  to  the  prayers  even 
of  the  servants  of  Christ. 

The  incarnate  Son  spent  in  prayer,  as  we  read  in 
Luke  vi.  12,  the  night  before  the  appointment  of  the 
twelve  Apostles.  In  Mark  xiv.  36  we  have  a  pathetic 
example  of  His  prayer  for  deliverance  from  impending 
and  overwhelming   agony  :  "  Abba,   Father,  all   things 


Lect.  XXV]  PRAYER  219 

are  possible  to  Thee  ;  take  away  this  cup  from  Me  ; 
nevertheless  not  what  I  will,  but  what  Thou  wilt."  In 
John  xvii.  ii,  15,  17,  20-23,  Luke  xxii.  32,  Christ  prays 
for  His  disciples. 

In  His  great  inaugural  address,  our  Lord  gives  His 
broad  sanction  to  prayer  by  saying,  as  recorded  in  Matt, 
vii.  7,  "  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ;  seek,  and  ye 
shall  find  ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  to  you  :  for 
every  one  that  asks  receives."  This  last  assertion  is  sup- 
ported by  a  comparison  between  human  parents  who, 
when  asked,  give  good  things  to  their  children  and  our 
*'  Father  in  heaven  "  who  "  much  more  will  give  good 
things  to  those  who  ask  Him."  In  a  similar  comparison 
in  Luke  xi.  13,  Christ  argues  specifically  that  our  "  Father 
from  heaven  will  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  those  who  ask 
Him."  To  the  disciples  asking  Him  to  teach  them 
to  pray,  Christ  gave  (Luke  xi.  2)  a  form  of  prayer,  a 
shorter  version  of  a  form  embodied  in  Matt.  vi.  9-13  in 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  close  and  even  verbal 
similarity  of  these  two  forms  reveals  their  firm  place  in 
the  thought  and  memory  of  His  earliest  followers. 

On  the  eve  of  His  betrayal,  as  recorded  in  John 
xiv.  13,  14,  Christ  promised,  "Whatever  ye  ask  in  My 
name,  I  will  do  it,  in  order  that  the  Father  may  be 
glorified  in  the  Son.  If  ye  ask  anything  in  My  name 
I  will  do  it."  Still  more  important  is  a  promise  recorded 
in  oh.  XV.  7  :  "  If  ye  abide  in  Me,  and  My  words  abide  in 
you,  ask  whatever  ye  will  and  it  shall  be  yours."  So 
ch.  xvi.  24  :  "  Hitherto  ye  have  not  asked  anything  in 
My  name  :  ask  and  ye  shall  receive  in  order  that  your 


220  THE  MEANS   OF  GRACE  [Part  III 

joy  may  be  made  full."  This  teaching  is  followed  by 
the  wonderful  prayer  of  Christ  in  ch.  xvii. 

A  marked  feature  of  his  Epistles  is  Paul's  eager 
desire  for  his  readers'  prayers  on  his  behalf.  In  2  Thess. 
iii.  I,  2  he  asks  young  converts  to  pray  for  him  "  in 
order  that  the  word  of  God  may  run  and  be  glorified," 
and  in  order  that  he  "maybe  rescued  from  unreasonable 
and  bad  men."  In  2  Cor.  i.  ii,  his  hope  of  continued 
deliverance  from  great  peril  is  conditioned  by  his  assur- 
ance that  his  readers  are  praying  for  him  :  "  while  ye 
also  are  working  together  with  us  by  prayer  on  our 
behalf."  In  Rom.  xv.  30,  31,  he  begs  the  Roman 
Christians  to  join  with  him  in  his  struggle  (literally,  his 
agony  or  athletic  contest)  by  prayers  on  his  behalf, 
in  order  that  he  may  be  rescued  from  the  unbelieving 
ones  in  Judaea  and  that  his  ministry  for  the  saints  may 
be  successful.  Similarly,  in  Col.  iv.  12,  Epaphras  is 
described  as  struggling  or  agonising  in  his  prayers  on 
behalf  of  the  Christians  at  Colossae.  In  each  of  these 
passages  earnest  prayer  is  compared  to  the  intense  effort 
of  an  athlete  contending  for  a  prize.  The  phrase 
"wrestling  in  prayer"  reproduces  exactly  the  Apostle's 
idea.  In  Eph.  vi.  19,  20,  and  Col.  iv.  3,  4  he  asks  his 
readers'  prayers  that  God  may  enable  him  to  preach 
boldly  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  In  almost  every  epistle  we 
have  mention  of  Paul's  own  unceasing  prayers  on  behalf 
of  each  of  the  Churches  founded  by  him.  And  in  Eph. 
i.  16-23,  i^i-  14-19  we  have  sublime  specimens  of  these 
prayers. 

The  above  passages,  and   many  others  similar,  leave 


Lect.  XXV]  PR  A  YER  221 

no  room  for  doubt  that  Christ,  by  example  and  precept, 
following  earlier  teachers,  specially  sanctioned  prayer 
as  a  means  of  obtaining  blessing  from  God.  This  is  an 
assured  historical  result  of  our  theological  research. 

Christ's  sanction  of  prayer  implies  that  it  is  the  will  of 
God  that  men  ask  for,  and  thus  obtain,  blessing  from 
Him.  And  this  implies  that,  by  the  ordinance  of  God, 
there  are  blessings  to  be  obtained  not  otherwise  than  by 
prayer.  We  reverently  ask,  Why  has  God  ordained 
prayer  as  a  means  of  grace  ?  Not  in  order  to  acquaint 
God  with  man's  needs.  For  these,  known  very  imper- 
fectly to  the  needy  ones,  are  altogether  known  to  God 
Not  to  persuade  God  to  bless,  as  man  pleads  with  man 
for  some  benefit  which  the  other  is  reluctant  to  give 
Our  question  returns  to  us.  Why  does  God  give,  to 
those  who  ask,  blessings  which  He  does  not  give  to 
others  ? 

A  partial  answer  is  suggested  by  our  Lord's  compari- 
son of  our  Father  in  heaven  to  parents  on  earth  who 
give  to  children  when  they  ask.  Not  unfrequently  a 
mother  makes  asking  a  condition  of  receiving  in  order, 
by  this  gentle  compulsion,  to  teach  the  child  to  speak 
and  thus  to  evoke  personal  intercourse  between  parent 
and  child.  For  the  sake  of  the  education  involved  in 
asking,  good  things  which  the  child  needs,  and  knows 
that  he  needs,  are  held  back  until  asked  for.  Now  it  is 
matter  of  blessed  experience  that  in  prayer  the  children 
of  God  have  intelligent  intercourse  with  a  Father  in 
heaven.  Thus,  by  personal  contact  of  spirit  with  spirit, 
they  obtain  a  consciousness,  otherwise  impossible,  of  the 


222  THE  MEANS  OF  GRACE  [Part  IU 

presence  of  an  unseen  yet  ""personal  Companion  and 
Helper.  In  such  moments  of  prayer,  men  have  ex- 
perienced the  reality  and  nearness  of  God,  sometimes  in 
utter  loneliness  and  helplessness,  in  a  measure  far  more 
than  compensating  for  the  absence  of  all  human  com- 
panionship and  help.  This  wonderful  result  points  to  a 
divine  purpose.  We  cannot  doubt  that  it  was  in  order 
to  evoke  this  personal  intercourse  with  God,  and  thus 
give  to  man  a  fuller  revelation  of  Himself,  that  God 
ordained  prayer  as  a  means  of  grace. 

Another  reason  may  be  suggested.  We  notice  that, 
in  the  New  Testament,  prayer  is  closely  connected  with 
faith,  and  that  faith  is  a  condition  of  successful  prayer. 
So  Mark  xi.  23,  24:  "  Whoever  shall  say  to  this  mountain. 
Be  taken  up  and  cast  into  the  sea,  and  shall  not  doubt  in 
his  heart  but  shall  believe  that  what  he  says  takes  place, 
it  shall  be  done  for  him.  Because  of  this,  I  say  to  you, 
all  things  so  many  as  in  prayer  ye  ask,  believe  that  ye 
have  received  them,  and  they  shall  be  yours."  Similarly 
James  i.  5,6:  "If  any  one  lacks  wisdom,  let  him  ask  from 
God  .  .  .  and  it  shall  be  given  him.  But  let  him  ask  in 
faith,  nothing  doubting.  For  he  that  doubts  is  like  a 
wave  of  the  sea  driven  by  wind  and  tossed.  Let  not 
that  man  think  that  he  shall  receive  anything  from  the 
Lord."  All  this  is  in  close  harmony  with  the  teaching 
of  Paul  and  of  Christ  that  the  blessings  of  the  New 
Covenant  are  obtained  by  faith.  Now  the  promise  that 
they  who  ask  shall  receive  is  a  searching  test  of  our 
faith.  Many  cannot  believe  that  by  merely  asking 
they  will    receive  :   and,  according  to  their  unbelief,  it 


L£CT.  XXV]  PRAYER  223 

is  not  done  to  them.  Others  venture  to  accept,  as  did 
Abraham,  the  promise  of  God.  They  ask,  confidently- 
expecting  to  receive  :  and  what  they  expect,  they  obtain. 
In  no  way  could  implicit  faith  in  God  be  put  to  a  keener 
test  than  by  God's  promise  to  give  spiritual  blessing  to 
those  who  ask  Him.  Here  again  from  the  result  we 
infer  a  divine  purpose.  God  ordained  prayer  and  Christ 
gave  the  promise  to  answer  prayer  in  order  to  test,  and 
thus  develop,  man's  faith  in  God. 

God  will  answer  prayer  only  so  far  as  it  is  in  harmony 
with  the  principles  of  the  administration  of  His  King- 
dom. For  these  are  for  the  highest  good  of  man,  and 
to  deviate  from  them  w^ould  be  injury  to  man.  By  these 
principles,  therefore,  are  limited,  and  must  be  interpreted, 
all  the  promises  of  God.  Consequently,  to  be  effectual, 
prayer  must  be  in  harmony  with  the  will  of  God.  The 
great  promise  to  answer  prayer,  in  John  xv.  7,  is  given 
to  those  who  abide  in  Christ.  And  the  prayers  of  such 
men  will  be  controlled  by  the  new  life  derived  from 
their  inward  union  with  Him.  Similarly,  i  John  v.  14, 
15  :  "If  we  ask  anything  according  to  His  will,  He 
hears  us  :  and  if  we  know  that  He  hears  us,  whatever  we 
ask,  we  know  that  we  have  the  petitions  which  we  have 
asked  from  Him."  Consequently,  effective  prayer  is 
conditioned  by  careful  study  of  the  mind  and  purpose 
of  God. 

The   simplest   form   of    prayer   is   for    the    spiritual 

blessings  promised  in  the  Gospel  for  all  who  put  faith  in 

Christ.     For   in    these    prayers   only   two   persons    are 

involved,    ourselves    and    God,    and  the  will   of  God   is 
16 


224  THE  MEANS   OF  GRACE  [Part  III 

revealed.  The  only  conditions  of  success  are  that  we 
understand  the  manifested  will  of  God,  and  expect,  with 
humble  yet  confident  faith,  its  realisation  in  ourselves. 
And  this  simplest  form  of  prayer  is  in  some  respects  the 
most  fruitful.  For  the  blessings  thus  to  be  obtained  are 
the  greatest  gifts  of  God  to  man.  To  learn  that  they 
may  be  obtained  by  asking  for,  has  been  to  thousands 
a  new  era  in  the  spiritual  life. 

In  the  passages  quoted  above,  Paul  prays  frequently 
for  deliverance  from  bodily  peril.  His  example  justifies 
prayer  for  temporal  blessings.  But  such  prayers,  from 
men  who  know  not  what  will  most  advance  their  own 
good  and  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  must  ever  be  offered 
with  profound  submission  to  the  unknown  will  of  God. 
Of  such  submission,  we  have  already  quoted  a  supreme 
example  in  the  prayer  of  Christ  recorded  in  Mark  xiv.  36. 
Such  prayers  can  never  be  unanswered  :  but  frequently 
the  answer  will  assume  a  form  neither  desired  nor 
thought  of  by  the  offerer. 

Prayer  for  the  spiritual  good  of  others  is  justified  by 
the  examples  quoted  above  from  the  Epistles  of  Paul. 
But  the  answer  to  such  prayers  involves,  in  addition  to 
him  who  prays  and  God  who  hears,  a  third  personality, 
viz.  the  person  on  whose  behalf  prayer  is  made.  The 
answer  to  such  prayers  is  therefore  conditioned  by  the 
free-will  of  another  man,  by  the  awful  prerogative,  given 
by  God  to  every  man,  of  refusing  and  resisting  spiritual 
blessing.  This  divinely-given  prerogative,  no  prayers 
of  another  can  efface.  But  Paul's  earnest  and  constant 
prayers  for  others  and  Christ's  prayer  (Luke  xxii.  32)  that 


Lect.  XXV]  PRA  YER  225 

Peter's  faith  might  not  fail  teach  us  that  such  prayers 
are  acceptable  to  God.  And,  if  so,  they  cannot  pass 
unanswered.  We  infer  therefore  that  in  answer  to  such 
prayers  God  will  bring  to  bear  on  those  for  whom  we 
pray  spiritual  influences  tending  towards  salvation, 
although  the  effect  of  these  influences  depends  ultimately 
upon  the  persons  in  question. 

The  relation  of  prayer  to  natural  law  cannot  be  dis- 
cussed here.  And  its  discussion  is  needless  for  the 
purpose  of  this  volume.  If  man  can,  by  adapting  his 
own  action  to  the  forces  of  nature,  use  them  to  work  out 
his  purposes,  if  he  can  deflect  from  their  course  the 
operation  of  natural  forces,  as  when  men  catch  a  ball 
which  otherwise  would  have  struck  the  ground,  surely 
He  from  whom  all  natural  forces  spring  can  so  use  them 
as  to  work  out  through  them  His  will  towards  men  ;  and 
His  will  is,  as  we  have  learned,  to  answer  prayer.  We 
pray  with  complete  confidence  because  our  prayers  are 
offered  "  to  Him  who  is  able  to  do  abundantly  beyond 
all  we  ask  or  think." 

Prayer  is  in  some  sense  a  correlative  to  God's 
revelation  of  Himself  to  man.  It  is  an  expression 
of  man's  apprehension  and  approval  of,  and  desire 
for,  the  revealed  will  of  God.  God  makes  known  to 
man  His  purpose  to  bless.  Man  hears  and  approves 
and  asks  for,  and  expects,  its  accomplishment.  Of  this 
accomplishment,  God  has  thought  fit  to  make  man's 
approval  and  expectation  a  condition. 

Already  we  have    found,  in  John  xvii.    11-24,  Luke 


226  THE  MEANS   OF  GRACE  [Part  III 

xxii.  32,  the  Incarnate  Son  praying  for  those  on  whose 
behalf  He  was  about  to  die.  In  Rom.  viii.  34,  we 
read  that  the  Risen  Christ,  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 
"  intercedes  on  our  behalf."  To  this  abiding  intercession 
is  attributed  in  Heb.  vii.  25  Christ's  ability  to  save  : 
"  He  is  able  to  save  completely  those  who  come  through 
Him  to  God,  seeing  that  He  ever  lives  to  intercede  on 
their  behalf"  These  passages  teach  that  the  prayer  of 
Christ  for  His  disciples,  begun  on  earth,  is  continued 
now  on  the  throne  of  God  ;  and  that  the  salvation  which 
God  works  in  those  who  believe  is  not  only  a  result  of 
the  death  of  Christ  but  an  answer  to  His  living  prayer. 
This  is  the  supreme  example  of  prayer. 

We  have  learned  in  Lect.  XVIII.  that  the  New  Life, 
in  all  its  elements,  is  through  Christ.  In  our  earlier 
volume  we  learned  that  it  is  specifically  through  His 
death.  We  have  now  learned  that  it  is  also  through  His 
abiding  intercession. 

The  intercession  of  Christ  is  closely  related  to  the 
propitiation  for  sins  in  His  death.  This  is  suggested  by 
the  mention  of  the  "  priesthood  "  and  the  ''  high  priest  " 
both  before  and  after  the  intercession  of  Christ  in  Heb. 
vii.  25.  The  writer's  line  of  thought  recalls  the  incense, 
a  silent  and  symbolic  prayer,  with  which,  on  the  great 
Day  of  Atonement,  the  high-priest  went  into  the  most 
holy  place,  with  the  blood  of  slain  animals,  to  make 
propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  people.  But  this  symbolic 
intercession  was  not,  as  some  have  caricatured  it,  a 
means  of  persuading  God  to  pardon.  It  was  ordained 
by  God  as  a  means  by  which  guilty  man  should  approach 


Lect  XXV]  PRAYER  227 

Him.  So  Christ  pleads,  not  as  though  He  were  our 
friend  and  God  our  enemy,  but  as  ordained  by  God  to 
plead  for  those  for  whom  God  gave  Him  to  die.  As  we 
saw  in  my  last  volume,  His  death  was  needful  for  our 
salvation.  This  great  truth  is  set  before  us,  in  a  form 
derived  from  the  ritual  of  the  Old  Covenant,  in  the  high- 
priestly  intercession  of  Christ.  Doubtless  that  ritual 
was  ordained  by  God  in  order  that  it  might  set  forth  the 
death  of  Christ  for  man's  sin.  And  from  that  death  and 
intercession  our  own  prayers  derive  their  power. 

The  intercession  of  Christ  may  be  viewed  in  two 
aspects.  It  teaches  that  man's  cry  for  pardon  has  an 
eternal  archetype  within  the  Godhead,  and  that  the 
pardon  of  those  who  believe  in  Christ  is  the  legitimate 
result  of  His  death.  On  the  other  hand,  our  knowledge 
that  while  we  plead  on  earth  there  pleads  for  us  in 
heaven  One  who  cannot  plead  in  vain  assures  us  that 
our  prayers  will  be  answered. 

In  Rom.  viii.  26  the  Spirit  of  God  "  intercedes  on 
behalf  of  saints."  He  prays  for  them  by  moving  them 
to  pray.  So  in  Gal.  iv.  6  He  is  said  to  cry  "  Abba, 
Father,"  because,  as  we  read  in  Rom.  viii.  15,  He  moves 
us  so  to  cry.  He  prays  for  us  by  praying  in  us.  To 
know  this,  greatly  aids  our  faith,  and  thus  gives  effective- 
ness to  our  prayers.  In  this  prayer  of  the  Spirit  on  our 
behalf  we  .shall,  in  Lect.  XXXIV.,  find  an  indication 
that  the  Spirit  is  a  Person  distinct  from  the  Father  and 
the  Son. 

We  have  now  seen  that  in  our  prayers  each  divine 
Person  has  a  definite  and  characteristic  part.     They  are 


228  THE  MEANS  OF  GRACE  [Part  III 

offered  in  the  Spirit,  through  the  Son,  to  the  Father. 
The  Spirit  dweUing  in  our  hearts  moves  us  to  pray,  and 
thus  gives  to  our  prayers  His  own  authority.  Only 
through  the  abiding  propitiation  in  the  death  of  the 
incarnate  Son  can  the  prayers  of  sinful  man  be  accept- 
able to  God.  And  the  Father  who  gave  His  Son  to 
die  is  Himself  the  Hearer  and  the  Answerer  of  prayer. 
Thus  the  harmony  of  man  with  God  which  finds  utter- 
ance in  man's  prayer  to  God  has  its  divine  source  and 
counterpart  in  the  intercession,  prompted  by  and  accept- 
able to  the  Father,  of  the  Son  and  Spirit  on  man's  behalf. 
We  wonder  not  that  prayer,  springing  as  it  does  from 
the  eternal  relation  of  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead,  is  in 
a  unique  sense  a  means  of  grace. 

Prayer  is,  in  one  important  aspect  of  it,  a  solitary 
approach  of  man  to  God  ;  just  as  faith  is  a  personal 
reliance  upon  Him.  But,  just  as  one  man's  faith  is  often 
strengthened  {e.g.  Rom.  i.  12)  by  that  of  others,  so  the 
experience  of  the  people  of  God  proves  the  great  benefit 
of  united  prayer.  In  Acts  iv.  24  we  find  men  who 
"  with  one  accord  lifted  up  their  voice  to  God "  in 
prayer.  And  in  all  ages,  such  united  approach  to  God 
has  been  an  abundant  means  of  blessing. 

Still  more  conspicuously  do  the  other  means  of  grace 
mentioned  above  involve  co-operation  of  the  servants 
of  Christ.  The  benefits  of  preaching  and  teaching 
imply  not  only  a  hearer  but  a  speaker.  The  two 
sacraments  are  not  solitary  rites,  but  imply  co-operation. 
We  have  in  the  New  Testament  no  instance  of  a  man 


Lect.  XXVJ  THE   CHURCH  229 

baptising  himself.  Even  Christ  received  the  sacred 
rite  from  another.  And  the  Lord's  Supper  is  essentially 
a  joint  meal.  So  Paul  says  in  i  Cor.  x.  17,  "we  all 
partake  the  same  bread."  This  needed  co-operation 
reminds  us  that  the  New  Life  in  Christ  is,  like  human 
life  in  general,  social.  For  his  highest  well-being,  man 
needs  the  help  of  his  fellows. 

For  this  need,  provision  is  made  in  the  Church  of 
Christ,  which  is  a  divinely-ordained  society  within  the 
larger  society  of  the  human  race,  designed  to  embrace 
the  race  and  to  give  to  it  a  unity  and  well-being  other- 
wise impossible.  Christ  designed  His  followers  to  be 
united  together,  not  only  by  inward  loyalty  to  Himself, 
but  in  visible  fellowship,  in  order  that  His  Church  may 
be  the  earthly  home  of  the  people  of  God  in  which, 
by  mutual  help,  their  spiritual  life  may  be  sheltered  and 
nourished  and  developed,  and  in  order  that  by  their 
co-operation  the  Gospel  may  be  carried  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  make 
provision  for  teaching  revealed  truth  to  its  members, 
for  administering  to  them  the  rites  ordained  by  Christ, 
and  for  united  prayer  and  mutual  spiritual  encourage- 
ment ;  for  the  preservation  and  dissemination  of  Holy 
Scripture ;  and  for  the  announcement  of  the  Gospel  to 
the  world.  Thus  is  the  Church  itself  a  many-sided  and 
all-embracing  means  of  grace.  This  important  topic  will 
be  the  subject  of  my  next  volume. 

By  the  use  of  the  divinely-appointed  channels  of 
blessing,  the  New  Life  in  Christ  is  maintained,  in  spite 
of  hostile  influences  around,  and  attains   day    by    day 


230  THE  MEANS   OF   GRACE  [Part  III 

a  richer  development.  And  each  day's  victory  over  sin 
and  all  spiritual  growth  reveal  the  reality  of  the  divine 
life  in  man,  and  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  which,  under  the 
shadow  of  the  guilt  of  past  sins  and  in  present  bondage 
to  sin,  we  dared  to  accept  on  the  word  and  promise  of 
God. 


LECTURE    XXVI 

RESULTS  ATTAINED 

WE  come  now  to  review  the  spiritual  and  practical 
results  of  our  theological  researches  up  to  this 
point. 

Amid  the  many  and  various  inanimate  and  irrational 
objects  around  us,  our  attention  was  arrested  by  other 
objects  rising  immeasurably  above  them,  viz.  men  and 
women,  corporeal,  living,  and  rational.     We  also  found, 
inwoven  into  the  tissue  of  human  thought,  a  mysterious 
and  peremptory  rule  of  conduct,  one  which  cannot  be 
accounted  for  by  any  of  the  forces  observed  at  work  in 
the  material  world.     These  objects  lifeless   and  living, 
and  the  intelligence  and  moral  sense  of  man,  we  traced 
to  an   intelligent  and  moral  Creator.      And  we   found 
that,  just  as   all  living  creatures  can   live  and  prosper 
only  in  an  appropriate  environment,  so  man  can  attain 
his  highest  welfare  only  along  the  path  marked  out  for 
him  by  the  inborn  Moral  Sense.     This  last  is,  to  each 
man,  until  better  instructed,  in  spite  of  human  liability 
to  error  in  moral  judgments,  the  Voice  and  Law  of  God. 
Thousands  of  men  and  women  in  all  ages  and  nations 

and  ranks  are  conscious,  as  the  literature  of  the  world 

231 


232  THE    WAY  Oh    HOLINESS  [Part  III 

bears  witness,  that  they  have  broken  this  law  so  mar- 
vellously inwoven  into  their  inner  life.  And  not  a  few 
of  them  are  conscious  of  inward  moral  deterioration 
resulting  from  their  transgression.  This  moral  deteriora- 
tion, itself  a  punishment  of  sin,  reveals  a  power  able 
and  ready  to  vindicate  the  authority  of  the  moral  sense 
by  due  recompense  for  all  actions  good  and  bad.  And, 
inasmuch  as  such  exact  retribution  is  not  observed  on 
earth,  but  is  contradicted  by  the  fact  that  many  have 
lost  their  lives  by  doing  right,  the  most  thoughtful  men 
in  all  nations  and  ages  have  looked  for  a  retribution 
beyond  the  grave. 

In  many  cases,  this  fear  of  future  punishment  has 
prompted  earnest  and  sometimes  painful  efforts  to  do 
right.  But  these  efforts  have  been  for  the  more  part  in 
vain  ;  and  thousands  have  felt  themselves  powerless  to 
to  do  that  which  their  moral  sense  peremptorily  com- 
mands. This  powerlessness  is  a  felt  moral  bondage. 
And  it  increases  our  fear  of  punishment  to  come :  for  it 
reveals  how  far  man  has  fallen  from  his  Creator's  purpose. 

This  widespread  experience  is  confirmed  by  the 
teaching  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  still  more  fully 
by  that  of  the  New.  Christ  and  His  Apostles  assert 
or  assume  constantly  that  all  men  have  sinned,  and 
have  thus  fallen  under  the  anger  of  God  ;  and  that  none 
can  by  his  own  moral  strength  so  act  as  to  obtain  the 
favour  of  God.  In  other  words,  both  Paul  and  Christ 
represent  all  men  as  guilty  of  past  sins,  and  there- 
fore exposed  to  punishment,  and  as  held  fast  in  a  moral 
bondage  they  arc  utterly  unable  to  break. 


Lect.  XXVI]  RESULTS  ATTAINED  233 

This  teaching  about  the  lost  state  of  man,  we  found 
supplemented  in  Old  and  New  Testaments  by  other 
teaching  about  the  saving  grace  of  God.  We  read 
that  upon  all  men  God  is  exerting  influences  tending 
towards  repentance  and  salvation,  influences  without 
which  repentance  and  moral  liberation  are  impossible. 
These  influences  reveal  the  mercy  of  God  and  His 
purpose  to  save  even  those  who  have  sinned  against 
Him,  and  are  now  unable  to  obey  his  commands. 

With  this  teaching  of  the  Bible  agree  the  facts  of 
human  life  as  we  observe  them  in  the  social  life  around 
us,  and  read  them  in  the  literature  of  the  past.  On  the 
one  hand,  even  in  Christian  countries,  sin  is  prevalent 
on  every  side  :  on  the  other  hand,  even  among  those 
who  have  never  heard  the  Gospel,  especially  in  the 
ancient  world,  we  find  here  and  there  great  moral 
excellence.  In  our  own  hearts  are  evil  influences  which 
can  be  overcome  only  by  constant  watchfulness  and  by 
divine  help ;  and  even  bad  men  are  conscious  sometimes 
of  influences  recalling  them  towards  the  path  of  virtue. 
The  utter  helplessness  of  man  to  save  himself  is  ex- 
plained by  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  about 
man's  bondage  to  sin.  The  occasional  excellence  of 
men  who  reject  the  Gospel  or  have  never  heard  it  is 
explained  by  the  teaching  of  Paul  that  the  kindness 
of  God  is  leading  men  to  repentance.  Such  is  the 
state  of  man  apart  from  the  salvation  announced  in 
the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

Under  these  circumstances,  as  we  read  in  Gen.  xii.  1-3, 
XV.  18,  God  became  the  friend  of  Abmbam.,  entered  into 


234  THE   WA  Y  OF  HOLINESS  [Part  III 


special  covenant  with  him  and  his  descendants,  and 
gave  to  him  promises  of  blessing  for  all  mankind.  In 
later  days,  through  the  agency  of  Moses,  He  rescued 
Israel  from  Egypt,  gave  to  them  a  written  law  consist- 
ing of  various  elements,  moral,  social,  and  ritual,  and 
made  His  favour  conditional  upon  obedience  to  the  law 
thus  given.  This  historic  law  received  authority  both 
from  the  law  written  upon  the  hearts  of  all  men  and 
from  the  manifestly  divin'e  deliverance  from  Egypt 
which  preceded  it  ;  and,  as  a  voice  from  without,  it  hoth 
aroused  and  strengthened  the  voice  speaking  within. 

The  law  thus  given,  whether  written  on  the  heart  of 
man  or  on  tables  of  stone,  could  not  save.  Its  only 
immediate  effect  was  to  deepen  man's  conviction  of  past 
sin  and  to  increase  his  fear  of  coming  punishment ;  and, 
by  stimulating  efforts  for  amendment,  to  reveal  still  more 
clearly  the  fetters  of  his  moral  bondage. 

It  is  right  to  say  that  the  written  law  was  both 
preceded  and  accompanied  by  promises  of  blessing  from 
God  to  man.  These  promises  could  not  neutralise  the 
condemnation  of  the  Law.  But  they  manifested  the 
goodness  of  God,  and  His  purpose  of  blessing  even  for 
sinful  man  ;  and  thus  aroused  a  hope  that  He  who  gave 
the  command  will  also  give  power  to  obey  it. 

In  the  fulness  of  the  times,  when  on  the  broad  plat- 
form of  history  all  human  effort  seemed  to  have  been 
tried  and  to  have  failed,  there  appeared  in  the  nation  to 
whom  the  promises  had  been  given  a  great  religious 
teacher.  He  announced  as  good  news  that  God  receives 
into  His  favour,  in  spite  of  their   past    sins,   all   who 


Lect.  XXVI]  RESULTS   ATTAINED  235 

believe  His  message  of  pardon.  In  support  of  this 
announcement  Christ  claimed  to  be  in  a  unique  sense  the 
Son  of  God,  and  asserted  that  in  the  great  Day  He  will 
Himself  sit  upon  the  throne  and  pronounce  judgment 
on  all  men.  The  voice  which  made  these  unheard-of 
claims  was  silenced  in  the  agonies  of  the  cross,  and  the 
lips  which  had  spoken  these  words  of  life  soon  lay  still 
in  the  grave.  But  He  rose  from  the  dead  ;  and  bade 
His  disciples  announce  everywhere  His  Gospel  of  salva- 
tion. They  did  so ;  and  appealed  to  their  Master's 
resurrection  from  the  dead  as  proof  that  His  Gospel 
is  true.  This  Gospel,  thousands  have  believed  ;  and  by 
believing  it  have  entered  the  number  of  the  justified. 

The  pardon  of  sinners  announced  by  Christ  and  His 
Apostles  seems  at  first  sight  to  overturn  the  principles 
of  justice.  For  the  Gospel  proclaims  life  for  men  who 
deserve  to  die.  But  both  Christ  and  His  Apostles  teach 
that  the  salvation  announced  in  the  Gospel  comes  to  us 
through  the  death  of  Christ  on  the  cross,  that  for  this 
end  He  died,  that  the  need  for  His  death  lay  in  man's 
sin,  viewed  (as  Paul  teaches)  in  the  light  of  the  justice  of 
God.  Now  the  gift  of  the  Son  of  God  to  die  for  guilty 
man  reveals,  as  nothing  else  could  do,  the  infinite  love 
of  God  to  man.  This  manifested  love  of  God  broadens 
the  foundation  for  man's  faith  already  laid  securely  in 
the  resurrection  of  Christ.  We  cannot  doubt  the  word 
of  Him  who,  to  save  us,  gave  up  His  Only-begotten  Son. 
P>om  all  this  we  learned  that  the  faith  which,  justifies  is 
a  reliance  upon  the  character  of  God  as  revealed  and 
attested  in  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ. 


236  THE    WAY  OF  HOLINESS  [Part  III 

Even  this  manifestation  of  the  love  and  power  of  God 
in  the  facts  of  the  earthly  life  of  Christ  does  not  com- 
plete the  salvation  of  man.  For  the  law  written  by  the 
Creator  in  the  heart  of  man  and  given  by  Him  in 
literary  form  to  ancient  Israel  requires  obedience  as  a 
condition  of  the  favour  of  God.  So  deeply  written  is 
this  law,  as  a  condition  of  the  favour  of  God,  that  it 
cannot  be  blotted  out  even  by  the  blood  shed  on  the 
cross  of  Christ.  Indeed,  the  majesty  of  the  Moral  Sense 
of  man  forbids  him  to  be  at  rest  while  doing  that  which 
the  Law  forbids.  Yet,  as  we  have  seen,  man  is  power- 
less to  do  that  which  the  Law  commands. 

The  writers  of  the  New  Testament  teach  that  all  who 
believe  the  Gospel  are  received,  not  only  into  the  favour 
of  God,  but  into  the  number  of  His  children.  Paul 
teaches  conspicuously  that  they  are  adopted  as  sons  of 
God  and  made  sharers  of  the  heritage  of  the  Firstborn 
Son.  He  teaches  also  that  to  His  adopted  sons  God 
gives  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  to  be  in  them  the  animating 
principle  of  a  new  life,  moving  them  to  call  God  their 
Father,  imparting  power  to  break  the  fetters  of  sin, 
and  guiding  and  enabling  them  to  walk  along  the  path 
marked  out  for  them  by  the  Law.  Other  New  Testa- 
ment writers  and  Christ  Himself  teach  that,  by  the 
agency  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  who  believe  are  born 
again  and  thus  receive  a  new  and  divine  life. 

This  new  life  of  filial  confidence  in  God  and  power 
over  sin,  being  manifestly  superhuman  and  following 
faith  in  Christ,  itself  confirms  the  Gospel  of  pardon 
which   in   our   deep   sin    we    dared    to    believe.      The 


Lect.  XXVI]  RESULTS  ATTAINED  237 

supreme  authority  of  the  Moral  Sense,  which  once 
condemned  us,  now  bears  witness  to  the  divine  origin  of 
a  salvation  which  enables  us,  in  a  degree  unknown 
before,  to  do  that  which  we  know  to  be  right.  That 
voice,  when  it  condemned  us,  we  dared  not  contradict  : 
we  dare  not  contradict  it  now  when  it  bears  witness  to 
the  reality  of  the  work  of  God  in  us.  Thus,  even  in 
the  present  life,  our  faith  in  Christ  and  in  the  Gospel 
receives  complete  verification. 

Such  is  the  entrance  into  the  way  of  life.  We  have 
also  in  some  measure  traced  its  course. 

We  saw  that  under  the  Old  Covenant  God  claimed 
that  certain  objects,  lifeless  and  living,  irrational  and 
rational,  be  devoted  wholly  to  Himself  and  His  service  ; 
and  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  claims  from  all  His  followers 
unreserved  devotion  to  Himself  and  to  the  Kinofdom  He 
came  to  establish.  Christ  thus  gave  a  new  and  loftier 
ideal  of  life  ;  an  ideal  which  becomes  to  us,  in  proportion 
as  we  apprehend  it,  the  highest  law  of  our  being,  and 
transforms  and  ennobles  our  conception  of  ourselves, 
of  our  fellow  men,  and  of  our  entire  environment. 

This  ideal  of  human  life,  we  found  realised  to  the 
full  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  He  thus  became  our  perfect 
pattern.  This  pattern,  we  endeavoured  to  imitate  :  but 
our  efforts  only  revealed  our  inability  to  do  so.  We 
cried  for  help  to  Him  who,  in  Christ,  had  already  recon- 
ciled us  to  Himself. 

The  New  Testament  teaches  that  to  those  who  believe 
the  Gospel  God  gives  His  Holy  Spirit  to  prompt,  and 
to  work  out  in  them  by  His  wisdom  and  power,  a  new 


2;^S  THE   IV A  Y  OF  HOLINESS  [Part  III 

life  of  unreserved  devotion  to  God  like  the  devotion  of 
Christ  to  God  ;  and  that  this  work  of  the  Spirit  in  man 
is  accomplished  through  faith  and  in  proportion  to  our 
faith.  Consequently,  like  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  the 
new  life  of  obedience  and  devotion  is  a  gift  and  work  of 
God  ;  and,  like  pardon,  it  is  obtained  by  faith. 

We  saw  that  devotion  to  God  involves  victory  over 
sin  :  for  all  sin  is  hostile  to  God  and  to  the  work  of 
Christ.  And,  since  salvation  was  made  possible  for 
guilty  man  only  by  the  death  of  Christ,  victory  over  and 
purification  from  sin  are  results  of  the  blood  shed  on 
His  cross.  As  involved  in  loyalty  to  Christ,  this  purifi- 
cation is  through  faith  and  through  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Thus  sin,  once  our  conqueror  and  oppressor,  still  our 
antagonist,  is  put  beneath  our  feet.  The  Law  of  GoJ, 
whether  speaking  to  us  in  the  Moral  Sense  or  from  the 
pages  of  Holy  Scripture,  is  also  changed.  For  it  is  no 
longer  a  voice  from  above  condemning  us  but  a  light 
within  guiding  us  along  a  safe  path.  Nay,  more.  The 
entire  universe  around  us  is  changed.  For,  to  those 
who  love  God,  all  things  are  working  together  for  good. 

The  New  Life,  thus  begun,  is  a  constant  growth,  in 
intelligence,  in  moral  strength,  and  in  likeness  to  Christ. 
We  are  not  surprised  to  find  that  this  growth,  and 
indeed  continuance  in  the  New  Life,  are  conditioned 
by  continued  faith.  Frequently  in  the  New  Testament 
we  are  warned  that,  unless  by  faith  we  abide  in  Christ, 
we  shall  fall  ;  and,  unless  we  return  to  faith,  fall  finally. 

We  also  found  various  divinely-ordained  helps  to  faith 
and  obedience  and  spiritual  growth.     The  preached  and 


Lect.  XXVI]  RESULTS  ATTAINED  239 

written  word  is  the  spiritual  nourishment  of  the  New 
Life.  So  are  the  two  sacred  rites  ordained  by  Christ. 
That  the  word  may  be  effectively  preached  and  the 
sacraments  duly  and  appropriately  administered,  and 
that  the  Gospel  may  be  carried  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
Christ  has  ordained  that  His  servants  be  united  together 
in  the  fellowship  of  His  Church.  And,  just  as  in  the 
Gospel  God  speaks  to  men  and  thus  conveys  to  them 
spiritual  life,  so  God  has  ordained  that  in  prayer  men 
shall  speak  to  God  and  ask  for  and  obtain  all  spiritual 
good. 

We  also  learned  that  Christ,  by  putting  men  right  with 
God,  puts  each  one  right  with  his  fellows.  Sin,  by 
giving  men  up  to  their  own  selfishness,  broke  up  the 
race  into  discordant  fragments.  For  selfishness  makes 
each  one  an  end  to  himself,  and  thus  brings  him  into 
collision  with  others.  Christ  came  into  the  world  to 
save  men  from  sin  and  all  its  consequences,  and  to  unite 
them  into  a  living  whole  in  which  each  various  part 
contributes  to  the  healthy  development  of  the  whole. 
Consequently,  devotion  to  Christ  is  devotion  to  the 
highest  good  of  man.  Thus  the  religion  taught  by  Christ, 
so  far  as  it  is  embraced  by  men,  gives  back  to  our  race 
the  unity  lost  by  sin,  and  unites  the  various  resources 
distributed  among  men  for  the  enrichment  of  the  whole. 
In  this  lofty  sense  is  Christ  the  Saviour  of  the  World. 

Such  is  the  scheme  of  salvation  presented  in  the   New 

Testament.     To  men  guilty  of  actual  sin  and  exposed 

to  punishment,  Christ  announced  pardon,  and  gave  proof 

of  His  authority  so  to  do.     To  men  held  fast  by  inward 
17 


240  RESULTS  ATTAINED  [Part  III 

bondage  to  sin,  He  gives,  by  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling 
in  the  hearts  of  all  that  believe,  inward  liberation.  In 
the  death  of  Christ,  honour  is  paid  to  the  law  which 
condemned  us.  And  by  the  Holy  Spirit  we  are  led 
along  the  path  which  the  Law  prescribes.  The  new  life 
thus  given  develops  day  by  day.  This  new  and  holy 
life  and  this  daily  growth  attest  the  truth  of  the  Gospel 
we  have  believed.  And  this  is  further  attested  by  the 
manifest  influence  of  Christianity  in  elevating  national 
life  and  in  binding  together  all  Christian  nations. 


PART    IV 

THE  DIVINE  AND  HUMAN  IN  THE  CHRISTIAN 

LIFE 


LECTURE   XXVII 

THE  ETERNAL   PURPOSE 

IN  the  foregoing  exposition  I  have  endeavoured  to 
prove  that,  in  the  teaching  of  Paul  and  of  Christ 
salvation,  from  the  first  turning  of  the  sinner  towards 
God  up  to  the  last  victory  over  the  last  temptation, 
is  altogether  a  work  of  God.  As  such,  it  is  called  by 
Paul  "  a  New  Creation."  This  later  manifestation  of 
the  creative  activity  of  God  differs,  however,  from  the 
creation  of  the  universe  and  of  man  in  that  in  it  we  trace 
another  determining  factor,  in  addition  to  the  will  and 
work  of  God,  viz.  the  mysterious  personality  and  the 
personal  action  of  man.  The  relation  between  these 
two  factors  in  human  life  and  in  the  development  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  we  come  now  to  consider. 
This  we  shall  best  do  by  tracing  up  the  work  of  salva- 
tion to  its  ultimate  source  in  the  eternal  purpose  of  God. 


242  THE  ETERNAL  PURPOSE  [Part  IV 

And  this  inquiry  will  bring  before  us  another  important 
element  of  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament. 

Since  all  the  best  works  of  man  (cp.  Through  Christ  to 
God,  p.  lo)  are  products  of  intelHgence  and  forethought, 
and  are  realisations  of  deliberate  purpose,  and  since  we 
must  think  of  God  as  Himself  Supreme  Intelligence,  the 
Source  of  all  other  intelligence,  we  cannot  doubt  that 
also  the  salvation  of  men  and  the  development  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  are  in  all  stages  an  accomplishment 
of  a  divine  purpose.  In  other  words,  the  Kingdom 
of  God  among  men  must  have  existed  as  a  definite 
thought  in  the  mind  of  God  before  it  existed  in  objective 
actuality. 

This  purpose  must  have  been  eternal.  For,  although 
we  can  conceive  new  outward  activity  of  God,  we  cannot 
conceive  a  new  thought  in  God,  i.e.  the  entrance  into 
His  mind  of  a  conception  not  previously  there.  In  Him 
there  can  be  no  afterthought.  For,  whereas  action  is 
passing,  thought  is  abiding.  And  that  which  abides  in 
the  eternal  mind  must  have  been  there  from  eternity. 

From  all  this  we  infer  that,  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world  and  before  the  earliest  creation  of  matter,  both 
the  material  universe  and  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  all 
their  stages  existed  as  definite  thought  in  the  mind 
of  God.  In  other  words,  whatever  throughout  the  ages 
God  has  done  in  the  salvation  of  men  and  in  building  up 
the  Kingdom  of  God  is  an  accomplishment  of  an  eternal 
purpose. 

So  closely  related  are  man  and  the  whole  life  of  man 


Lect.  XXVII]  THE  ETERNAL  PURPOSE  243 

to  his  material  environment,  and  so  closely  related  to 
this  environment  is  man's  rescue  from  sin  and  ruin,  that 
we  cannot  doubt  that  creation  and  redemption  are 
mutually  related  parts  of  one  great  purpose.  Indeed 
the  earlier  stages  of  the  development  of  the  material 
world  are  of  interest  chiefly  as  preparing  a  platform  for 
human  life  and  history  and  for  the  work  of  God  among 
men.  And,  in  view  of  man's  sin,  his  creation  would  be 
no  lasting  benefit  apart  from  the  redemption  wrought  by 
Christ.  When  God  created  the  world,  He  must  have 
foreseen  that  it  would  be  stained  by  sin  and  by  the 
shed  blood  of  the  Eternal  Son.  And,  when  He  Hnked 
together  the  various  forces  of  nature,  He  evidently 
ordained  them  so  as  most  to  help  forward  the  great 
purpose  for  which  in  future  ages  the  Eternal  Son 
assumed  human  form.  The  adaptation  of  each  to  the 
other  reveals  the  Author's  comprehensive  plan.  Viewed 
in  this  light,  the  successive  stages  of  the  material  world, 
the  creation  of  matter  and  the  impulse  which  created 
motion,  the  creation  of  life  and  of  intelligence,  are 
consecutive  steps  leading  up  to  the  eternal  and  glorious 
Kingdom  of  Christ  and  of  God. 

God's  purpose  to  save  man  could  not  have  been 
prompted  by  any  good  outside  God.  For  the  harmony 
and  unity  of  whatever  is  good  reveals  a  common  source  : 
and  this  can  be  no  other  than  the  One  Source  of  the 
material  universe  and  of  the  moral  sense  of  man.  Con- 
sequently, all  human  goodness  is  an  outflow  of  eternal 
goodness,  and  a  work  of  God  in  man.  And,  as  itself  a 
result  of  divine  activity,  it  cannot  be  a  motive  for  the 


244  THE  ETERNAL  PURPOSE  [Part  IV 


same.  Consequently,  salvation  cannot  be  in  any  way 
by  human  merit,  i.e.  the  purpose  to  save  man  was  not 
prompted  by  his  foreseen  repentance  and  faith  and 
obedience.  For  all  these  are  works  of  God  in  man. 
Both  creation  and  redemption  sprang  only  from  God's 
purpose  to  bless.  Being  Himself  infinite  love,  He 
resolved  to  create  intelligent  objects  of  love,  and  to 
enrich  them  with  His  own  fulness  :  and,  since  He  fore- 
saw man's  sin,  which  can  be  forgiven  only  through  some 
such  manifestation  of  God's  righteousness,  as  was  actually 
given  in  the  death  of  Christ  for  man's  sin.  He  purposed 
before  the  creation  of  the  world  to  give  His  Son  to  die 
for  the  salvation  of  men. 

That  salvation  is,  from  beginning  to  completion,  an 
accomplishment  of  an  eternal  purpose  of  God,  by  no 
means  excludes  its  contingency  on  man's  action.  For 
man's  action  is  an  outworking  of  a  power  given  to  him 
by  God.  And  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  intelligent 
Author  of  this  power  foresaw  the  entire  future  operation 
of  that  which  Himself  created.  He  must  have  known 
what  man  would  do.  And  this  foreknowledge  must 
have  conditioned  the  details  of  His  own  purposes  with 
regard  to  man.  This  topic,  I  shall  further  discuss  in 
Lect.  XXIX. 

We  therefore  infer  with  confidence  from  the  nature 
of  God,  as  revealed  in  the  material  world  and  in  human 
life  and  history,  that  whatever  God  has  done  and  will 
do,  in  creation,  redemption,  and  the  establishment  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God,  is  an  accomplishment  of  an 
eternal  purpose,  and  that  the  various  elements  of  this 


Lect.  XXVII]  THE  ETERNAL  PURPOSE  S45 

purpose  stand  related,  each  to  the  others,  as  constituent 
parts  of  one  harmonious  counsel  of  God.  I  shall  now 
endeavour  to  show  that  this  inference  was  anticipated 
by  the  clear  and  abundant  teaching  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  especially  of  the  Epistles  of  Paul. 

In  his  inaugural  address  recorded  in  Acts  ii.  14-36, 
Peter  speaks  (v.  23)  of  Christ  as  "  given  up  by  the 
marked  out  {Mpiaixevrj)  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of 
God."  This  implies  that  the  death  of  Christ,  to  which 
in  the  words  following  Peter  expressly  refers,  was 
part  of  a  definite  purpose  of  God.  Moreover,  that  this 
purpose  was  based  upon  what  God  foresaw  that  the 
enemies  of  Christ  would  do  to  Him,  is  suggested  by 
the  word  foreknowledge.  For  otherwise  the  addition  of 
this  word  is  meaningless.  It  brings  before  us  another 
element  in  the  death  of  Christ  besides  the  divine 
purpose,  viz.  the  foreseen  action  of  man. 

After  stating  in  Rom.  viii.  19-23  that  Nature  will 
share  the  salvation  awaiting  the  children  of  God,  Paul 
goes  on  to  state  in  v.  28  that  all  things  are  working 
together  for  good  for  those  who  love  God.  This 
universal  harmony,  he  then  traces  to  the  divine  purpose 
underlying  the  Gospel  call :  "  for  them  who,  according 
to  His  purpose,  are  called."  This  purpose  is  stated  in 
V.  29  :  "  whom  He  foreknew,  He  also  foreordained  to  be 
conformed  to  the  image  of  His  Son,  in  order  that  He 
may  be  firstborn  among  many  brethren."  The  emphatic 
repetition  of  the  particle  irpo-  in  the  composite  verbs  ''fore- 
knew "  and  "/"preordained  "  suggests  strongly  that  this 
divine  purpose  was  earlier  than  the  "  all  things  "  which 


246  THE  ETERNAL  PURPOSE  [Part  IV 

are  working  together  for  the  good  of  those  who  love 
God.  Paul  asserts  that  in  the  eternal  past  the  eternal 
Father,  contemplating  the  eternal  Son,  resolved  to  sur- 
round Him  with  other  later-born  sons,  made  like  to  the 
Firstborn,  whom  He  would  not  be  ashamed  to  call  His 
brethren.  Of  this  eternal  purpose,  whatever  God  has 
done  in  Christ  is  a  realisation. 

In  Rom.  xvi.  25  we  read  of  a  "  mystery  kept  in 
silence  during  eternal  ages,  but  manifested  now  "  in  the 
Gospel  of  Paul  and  the  proclamation  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
"  made  known  according  to  a  command  of  the  eternal 
God  for  all  the  nations."  This  mystery  can  be  no  other 
than  the  purpose  of  salvation  which  from  eternity  lay 
hidden  in  the  breast  of  God  and  which  in  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  is  revealed  to  men. 

Similarly,  in  i  Cor.  ii.  7  we  read  of  "  God's  wisdom  in 
a  mystery,  the  hidden  wisdom  which  God  foreordained 
(same  word  as  in  Rom.  viii.  29)  before  the  ages  for  our 
glory."  We  are  here  taught  that,  before  the  successive 
ages  of  time  began,  God  marked  out  in  His  wisdom  a 
definite  purpose  of  salvation,  a  purpose  known  only  by 
those  to  whom  God  reveals  it  through  His  Spirit. 

Still  more  clearly  in  Eph.  i.  4  we  read  that  God 
"  chose  us  in  Him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world 
in  order  that  we  may  be  holy  and  blameless  before  Him, 
having  foreordained  (same  word  as  in  Rom.  viii.  29, 
I  Cor.  ii.  7)  us  to  adoption  through  Jesus  Christ."  In 
V.  9  we  read  of  "  the  mystery  of  His  will,  according  to 
His  good  pleasure  which  He  purposed  in  Him."  That 
purpose  is  "  to  sum  up  all  things  in  Christ,  those  in  the 


Lect.  XXVII]  THE  ETERNAL  PURPOSE  247 

heavens  and  those  on  the  earth."  The  readers  had  been 
"  foreordained  according  to  the  purpose  of  Him  who 
works  all  things  according  to  the  counsel  of  His  own 
will."  We  have  here  in  the  mind  of  God,  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  a  definite  purpose  to  bring 
sinful  men,  their  sins  forgiven  through  the  death  of 
Christ,  into  the  family  of  God,  and  to  unite  the  whole 
universe  under  the  sway  of  Christ. 

Notice  here  two  elements  in  God's  purpose  of  salva- 
tion, viz.  a  selection  of  the  objects  of  salvation,  and 
a  marking  out  beforehand,  or  predestination,  of  the  goal 
to  which  He  was  resolved  to  lead  them.  In  the  eternal 
past  God  resolved  to  save,  not  all  men  indiscriminately, 
nor  on  the  ground  of  previous  merit,  but  those  and 
only  those  who  should  believe  the  promise  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus.  This  selection,  made  by  the  sovereign 
wisdom  of  God,  seemed  to  the  Jews  both  arbitrary 
and  subversive  of  morality.  But  Paul  shows,  in  Rom. 
ix.  6-13,  that  it  was  no  more  so  than  was  God's  choice 
of  Isaac  and  rejection  of  Ishmael,  and  of  Jacob  but  not 
Esau  before  the  twin  brothers  had  done  good  or  evil. 
Paul's  doctrine  of  election  is  only  his  fundamental 
doctrine  of  Justification  through  Faith  viewed  in  the 
light  of  the  eternal  purpose  of  God.  Similarly,  his 
doctrine  of  predestination  to  be  sons  of  God,  conformed 
to  the  image  of  the  eternal  Son,  is  but  his  doctrine  of 
Adoption  looked  at  from  the  same  point  of  view. 

The  eternal  purpose  meets  us  again  in  Eph.  iii.  4-6 : 
"  the  mystery  of  Christ,  which  in  other  generations 
was  not   made  known  to  the  sons  of  men,  as   now  it 


248  THE  ETERNAL   PURPOSE  [Part  IV 

has  been  revealed  to  His  holy  apostles  and  prophets 
in  the  Spirit."  Similarly,  in  the  latest  of  his  epistles, 
2  Tim.  i.  9,  lo :  "who  saved  us,  and  called  us  with  a 
holy  calling,  not  according  to  our  works  but  according 
to  a  purpose  of  His  own  and  grace  given  to  us  in  Christ 
Jesus  before  eternal  ages,  but  manifested  now  through 
the  appearance  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 

In  Rev.  xvii.  8  we  read  of  persons  "  whose  name  is 
not  Written  in  the  Book  of  Life  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world."  This  implies,  in  close  harmony  with  the 
teaching  of  Paul  quoted  above,  that,  before  the  world 
was,  the  future  heirs  of  salvation  were  present  to  the 
thought  and  purpose  of  God.  The  similar  words  in 
ch.  xiii.  8  may  mean  either  that  the  book  was  written 
or  the  Lamb  was  slain,  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  The  practical  difference  is  not  great.  For  each 
interpretation  implies  that  the  purpose  of  salvation, 
which  several  times  in  this  book  is  connected  with  the 
death  of  Christ,  is  earlier  than  the  creation. 

In  the  above  quotations  we  trace,  to  the  writers  of 
the  New  Testament,  our  own  inferences  from  the  Gospel 
viewed  in  the  light  of  the  nature  of  God.  Indeed, 
Paul's  doctrines  of  election  and  predestination  are  little 
more  than  a  restatement  of  the  Gospel  in  terms  of  the 
eternal  forethought  of  God. 

This  creative  and  redemptive  thought,  we  may  con- 
ceive as  an  object  of  divine  contemplation  in  eternity. 
We  may  also  conceive  God  contemplating,  with  com- 
plete satisfaction,  its  future  realisation  in  the  eternal 
glory   of  the    sons    of    God  ;    and    contemplating    the 


Lect.  XXVII]  THE  ETERNAL  PURPOSE  '         249 

successive  stages  leading  up  to  this  supreme  result. 
We  may  reverently  conceive  the  eternal  Father  and 
the  eternal  Son  contemplating  the  cost  of  this  realisa- 
tion, viz.  the  self- emptying  and  incarnation  and  suffering 
and  death  of  the  eternal  Son  ;  and,  in  view  of  the  glory 
which  would  follow,  deliberately  purposing  this  stupen- 
dous sacrifice.  This  purpose  is  an  eternal  outflow,  as 
each  step  of  its  realisation  is  an  historic  outflow,  of  that 
love  which  is  the  inmost  essence  of  God 


LECTURE   XXVIII 

THE  PROGRESSIVE  REALISATION 

WE  have  seen  the  purpose  to  create  the  universe, 
to  redeem  man,  and  to  build  up  the  eternal 
Kingdom  of  God,  as  pure  thought,  but  definite  and 
complete  thought,  in  the  mind  of  God ;  an  outflow 
of  infinite  love  armed  with  infinite  resources.  We  come 
now  to  consider  its  progressive  realisation. 

The  first  step  in  this  realisation,  so  far  as  we  'can 
conceive,  must  have  been  the  creation  of  matter.  And 
matter  in  its  earliest  form,  we  cannot  conceive  as  other 
than  homogeneous.  For  heterogeneity  must  have  had  a 
previous  history.  This  original  matter  must  have  been 
endowed  with  inherent  forces,  or  a  force,  of  which  the 
present  natural  forces  are  specialised  developments. 
And,  at  its  creation  or  subsequently,  it  must  have 
received  the  primal  impulse  which  created  motion  and 
broke  up  its  homogeneity.  In  matter  thus  created,  we 
have  an  objective  reality  other  than  God,  Himself  the 
original  and  eternal  Reality.  And  in  its  movements  we 
have  activity  derived  from  God  but  distinct  and  different 
from  the  ever-active  thought  of  God. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  primal  impulse,  and  of  the 


Lect.  XXVIII]     THE  PROGRESSIVE  REALISATION  251 

reaction  of  the  inherent  forces  of  nature,  we  must 
conceive  the  evolution  of  the  solar  system,  and  especially 
of  our  planet,  as  a  suitable  dwelling-place  for  man  and  a 
suitable  platform  for  human  history. 

A  very  definite  stage  in  the  evolution  of  the  universe 
was  marked  by  the  origin  of  life.  In  living  bodies  we 
notice  new  forces  at  work,  differing  widely  from,  yet 
most  closely  related  to,  the  forces  operating  in  inorganic 
matter.  The  advent  of  life  created  a  new  era  in  the 
history  of  our  planet,  a  further  stage  in  the  progressive 
realisation  of  the  purpose  of  God.  We  notice  also  the 
many-sided  development  of  innumerable  varieties  of 
life  ;  and,  amid  them,  a  well-sustained  progress  from 
lower  to  higher  forms.  The  progressive  specialisation 
of  bodily  forms  was  followed,  or  accompanied,  by  the 
dawn  and  development  of  animal  sensation  and  intelli- 
gence. Looking  back  upon  this  intelligence  from  the 
higher  standpoint  of  human  intelligence,  we  see  in  it 
another  step  forward  in  the  accomplishment  of  the 
creative  purpose  of  God.  The  significance  of  this  stage 
is  indicated  by  the  use  of  the  word  life  to  describe  both 
the  lower  animals  and  the  spiritual  and  blessed  condition 
of  saved  mankind.  For  this  various  use  of  the  same 
word  reveals  a  connection  between  the  very  different 
objects  denoted  by  it. 

With  life,  appeared  also  an  element  of  apparent 
discord  in  the  harmony  of  the  universe,  viz.  suffering 
and  death,  the  dark  counterfoil  to  all  forms  of  life.  We 
notice  however  that,  in  the  order  of  nature,  even  death 
helps   forward    the   progressive    purpose  of  God.     The 


252  THE  PROGRESSIVE  REALISATION         [Part  IV 

destruction  of  the  less  fit  opened  a  way  for  the  ap- 
pearance successively  of  higher  and  still  higher  forms 
of  life. 

Another  stage  of  development  was  the  appearance  of 
man,  combining  in  himself  and  surpassing  infinitely  all 
earlier  progress.  In  him  we  notice  a  capacity  for 
development,  and  especially  for  development  of  the 
individual,  which  leaves  far  behind  all  development  of 
animal  life.  Man's  intelligence  differs  in  kind,  especially 
in  its  capacity  for  development,  from  that  of  animals. 
And  in  his  moral  sense  we  have  an  element  altogether 
new. 

This  new  development,  however,  brings  to  view  an 
element  of  discord  far  more  serious  even  than  suffering 
and  death.  We  find  men  doing,  and  ourselves  doing, 
that  which  they  and  we  cannot  but  condemn.  The  dark 
shadow  of  sin,  as  something  opposed  utterly  to  the 
intelligent  Source  of  all  things,  falls  across  the  scene 
now  opening  to  our  view.  In  sin  we  see  a  footprint  of 
an  actor  other  than,  and  opposed  to,  God.  And  the 
presence  of  sin  hinders,  evidently  and  seriously,  the 
harmonious  realisation  of  the  purpose  of  God. 

But  we  have  seen  that  God  did  not  leave  man  in  his 
sin.  We  found  Him  using  means  to  lead  him  back  to 
obedience  and  life.  Moreover  we  notice  that  God  uses 
sin,  and  especially  sin  in  its  most  tremendous  form,  viz. 
the  murder  of  Christ,  to  work  out  His  purposes  of 
mercy.  Thus  under  the  shadow  of  death,  and  amid  the 
discord  introduced  by  sin,  with  progress  rapid  or  slow, 
and  in  spite  of  occasional  retrogression,  during  the  ages, 


Lect.  XXVIII]     THE  PROGRESSIVE  REALISATION  253 

the  great  purpose  of  God  has  advanced  towards  fuller 
and  fuller  realisation. 

By  His  covenant  with  Abraham,  God  linked  Himself 
with  man  more  closely  than  ever  before.  And  through 
the  deliverance  from  Egypt,  and  the  ordinances  given  at 
Sinai,  God  placed  the  whole  Israelite  nation  in  special 
relation  to  Himself,  and  gave  to  it  a  knowledge  of 
Himself  not  possessed  by  other  nations.  By  its  captivity 
among  the  heathen,  the  sacred  nation  was  weaned  from 
idolatry  ;  and  by  the  return  from  captivity  a  people  was 
prepared  to  receive  from  the  incarnate  Son  a  Gospel 
designed  for  all  nations.  In  the  fulness  of  time  appeared 
the  hoped-for  Saviour.  Yet,  to  our  surprise.  He  passed 
from  view  without  having  attained  any  conspicuous  and 
world-wide  results.  But  His  followers  at  once  began  to 
carry  to  the  ends  of  the  world  that  knowledge  of  God 
which  had  hitherto  been  a  privilege  of  Israel  only,  and 
with  it  an  announcement  of  salvation  for  all  men,  a 
salvation  in  its  fulness  previously  unknown  even  to 
Israel.  And  now  for  long  centuries,  in  the  Christian 
nations,  but  in  them  only,  the  knowledge  and  Kingdom 
of  God  have  been  making  progress  among  men.  Outside 
these  nations  there  has  been  and  is  everywhere  stag- 
nation and  decay.  Throughout  the  Christian  centuries 
an  unseen  but  guiding  hand  of  God  is  felt,  and  perhaps 
most  conspicuously  in  the  midst  of  man's  unfaithfulness 
and  sin.  As  eras  revealing  this  special  guidance,  we 
notice  the  age  of  the  Councils,  the  conversion  of  the 
Germanic  peoples,  and  the  Reformation.  Step  by  step, 
often  hindered  by  man's  folly  and  sin,  the  Kingdom  of 


254  THE  PROGRESSIVE  REALISATION  [Part  IV 

God  has  made  progress  :  and  Christianity  now  promises 
speedily  to  overspread  the  earth. 

Another  kind  of  progress  is  observed  by  thousands 
of  the  servants  of  Christ  in  their  own  inward  and 
outward  life.  A  review  of  their  own  history  reveals  to 
them  the  guidance  of  an  unseen  Hand  and  help  from  an 
unseen  Source.  This  they  recognise  in  early  influences 
holding  them  back  from  sin  and  leading  them  towards 
Christ,  in  special  help  at  special  crises  of  their  life,  in 
deliverance  where  there  seemed  to  be  no  way  of  escape, 
in  increasing  joy  in  God,  and  in  sustained  moral  growth. 
Their  own  spiritual  experiences  reveal  to  them  un- 
mistakably the  working  out  of  a  deliberate  purpose  of 
One  who  works  all  things  according  to  the  counsel  of 
His  own  will. 

This  development,  in  the  individual  and  in  the  race, 
is  still  going  forward.  On  all  sides,  and  in  almost  all 
Churches,  we  see  progress.  And  the  progress  visible 
around  kindles  a  hope  of  still  more  glorious  advance  in 
the  future.  For,  manifestly,  the  development  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  among  men  on  earth  is  not  yet 
complete. 

This  further  development,  we  shall  consider  in  another 
Lecture.  The  relation  of  the  purpose  and  work  of  God 
to  the  free  agency  of  man  demands  our  next  attention. 


LECTURE   XXIX 

HUMAN     FREEDOM 

WE  have  already  noticed,  in  the  facts  of  life, 
certain  phenomena  which  cannot,  or  cannot 
without  difficulty,  be  attributed  directly  to  God.  The 
first  of  these  was  suffering,  leading  down  to  death, 
which  we  found  in  close  relation  to  all  life,  animal  and 
human  ;  the  second  was  sin,  which  is  utterly  opposed  to 
the  nature  of  God,  and  therefore  cannot  be  His  work. 
These  phenomena  demand  now  our  serious  attention. 

Between  these  two  groups  of  phenomena,  viz.  suffer- 
ing and  sin,  which  are  classed  together  as  evil  and  are 
evidently  most  closely  related,  we  notice  at  once  an 
immense  difference.  This  difference  is  indicated  by  the 
different  emotions  aroused  in  us  by  a  great  calamity 
and  a  great  crime.  The  one  we  deplore,  the  other  we 
condemn.  And,  while  doing  so,  we  feel  that  these 
judgments  belong  to  different  spheres  of  thought.  They 
differ  in  their  degree  of  incongruity  to  the  nature  of 
God.  Suffering  cannot  be  in  itself  an  end  desired  by 
Him  whose  one  aim  is  to  bless.  But  sin  is  utterly 
abhorrent  to  God,  and  cannot  be  in  any  way  His  work. 
Yet  we  have  no  difficulty  in  believing  that  God  hr.s 
18  2SS 


2S6  HUMAN  FREEDOM  [Part  IV 

linked  together  sin  and  suffering  in  that  close  relation 
to  which  the  moral  life  of  men  bears  witness.  Of  these 
strange  phenomena,  we  now  seek  some  explanation. 

In  our  search,  we  turn  to  the  facts  of  man's  own 
consciousness.  We  cannot  throw  off  a  conviction  that 
we  are  ourselves  the  ultimate  source  of  our  own  actions  ; 
and  that,  although  these  may  be  due  in  some  measure 
to  various  external  influences,  the  real  responsibility 
rests  with  ourselves  alone.  Frequently,  this  sense  of 
sole  responsibility  is  most  painful.  If  we  could  per- 
suade ourselves  that  some  action  of  ours  which  we  are 
compelled  to  condemn  was  really  due  to  an  irresistible 
influence,  outward  or  inward,  we  should  be  greatly 
relieved.  But  this  relief  is  denied  to  us.  We  dare 
not  say  that  our  own  actions  have  their  real  source 
elsewhere  than  in  ourselves.  They  claim  us  as  their 
real  author.  And  we  stand  face  to  face  with  a  responsi- 
bility we  cannot  lay  aside. 

This  deeply-rooted  and  far-reaching  conviction,  which 
underlies  and  colours  all  human  thought  about  our- 
selves and  others,  cannot  be  a  delusion.  Otherwise  all 
human  thought  is  a  delusion,  and  worthless.  If  our 
moral  estimate  of  ourselves  and  others  be  without 
foundation,  we  must,  in  despair,  abandon  all  efforts  to 
learn  the  significance  of  human  life  ;  and  sink  to  the 
level  of  brutes. 

Again,  a  wide  experience  teaches  that  this  sense  of 
responsibility  for  our  actions  is  a  powerful  deterrent 
from  sin  and  a  stimulus  to  virtue.  Consequently,  to 
teach  that  it  is  a  delusion,  is  to  break  down  a  moral 


Lect.  XXIX]  HUMAN  FREEDOM  257 

safeguard  and  to  rob  man  of  a  moral  helper.  To  do 
this,  is  to  inflict  serious  injury.  If  the  truth  demands 
this  sacrifice,  then  is  the  truth  an  enemy  to  the  highest 
interests  of  man.  This  cannot  be.  An  irresistible 
conviction,  rooted  in  that  in  man  which  is  noblest  and 
best,  assures  us  that  that  which  is  morally  hurtful 
cannot  be  intellectually  true.  If  so,  our  conviction  that 
we  are  ourselves  fully  responsible  for  our  own  actions 
is  and  must  be  essential  truth.  In  other  words,  man's 
deep  conviction  that  in  the  moment  of  decision  he  is 
free  to  yield  to  or  resist  the  influences  brought  to  bear 
upon  him,  and  that  the  ultimate  decision  is  with  himself 
alone,  is  attested  not  only  by  the  strength  of  this 
conviction  but  by  the  moral  ruin  involved  in  a  denial 
of  its  truth.  Certainly  we  shall  not  accept  such  denial 
unless  it  be  supported  by  authority  equal  to  the  com- 
bined evidence  just  quoted. 

The  doctrine,  just  expounded  and  supported,  that 
each  man  is  the  ultimate  source  of  his  own  actions,  is 
contradicted  by  not  a  few  modern  writers.  Of  these 
I  may  quote  J.  S.  Mill,  who  in  bk.  vi.  ch.  2  of  his  System 
of  Logic  writes  as  follows  : — "  The  question,  whether  the 
law  of  causality  applies  in  the  same  strict  sense  to 
human  actions  as  to  other  phenomena,  is  the  celebrated 
controversy  about  the  freedom  of  the  will :  which  from 
at  least  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Pelagius,  has  divided 
both  the  philosophical  and  the  religious  world.  The 
affirmative  opinion  is  commonly  called  the  doctrine  of 
Necessity,  as  asserting  human  volitions  and  actions  to 
be  necessary  and  inevitable.      The  negative   maintains 


258  HUMAN  FREEDOM  [Part  IV 

that  the  will  is  not  determined,  like  other  phenomena 
by  antecedents,  but  determines  itself;  that  our  volitions 
are  not,  properly  speaking,  the  effects  of  causes,  or  at 
least  have  no  causes  which  they  uniformly  and  implicitly 
obey. 

"  I  have  already  made  it  sufficiently  apparent  that 
the  former  of  these  opinions  is  that  which  I  consider  the 
true  one ;  but  the  misleading  terms  in  which  it  is  often 
expressed,  and  the  indistinct  manner  in  which  it  is 
usually  apprehended,  have  both  obstructed  its  reception, 
and  perverted  its  influence  when  received.  The  meta- 
physical theory  of  free-will,  as  held  by  philosophers, 
(for  the  practical  feeling  of  it,  common  in  a  greater  or 
less  degree  to  all  mankind,  is  in  no  way  inconsistent 
with  the  contrary  theory,)  was  invented  because  the 
supposed  alternative  of  admitting  human  actions  to  be 
necessary,  was  deemed  inconsistent  with  every  one's 
instinctive  consciousness,  as  well  as  humiliating  to  the 
pride  and  even  degrading  to  the  moral  nature  of  man. 
Nor  do  I  deny  that  the  doctrine  as  sometimes  held,  is 
open  to  these  imputations  ;  for  the  misapprehension 
in  which  I  shall  be  able  to  show  that  they  originate, 
unfortunately  is  not  confined  to  the  opponents  of  the 
doctrine,  but  is  participated  in  by  many,  perhaps  we 
might  say  by  most,  of  its  supporters. 

"  Correctly  conceived,  the  doctrine  called  Philosophical 
Necessity  is  simply  this  :  that,  given  the  motives  which 
are  present  to  an  individual's  mind,  and  given  likewise 
the  character  and  disposition  of  the  individual,  the 
manner  in  which  he  will  act  might  be   unerringly  in- 


Lect.  XXIX]  HUMAN  FREEDOM  259 

ferred  :  that  if  we  knew  the  person  thoroughly,  and 
knew  all  the  inducements  which  are  acting  upon  him, 
we  could  foretell  his  conduct  with  as  much  certainty  as 
we  can  predict  any  physical  event." 

Similar  teaching  underlies  the  Synthetic  Philosophy 
of  Herbert  Spencer,  and  is  defended  in  a  chapter  on 
The  Will  in  his  Principles  of  Psychology.  It  is  uni- 
versally accepted  by  modern  Scientific  Agnostics  as  a 
logical  result  of  their  principles. 

Already  we  have  seen  that  this  theory  is  contradicted 
by  a  conviction  too  deep  and  widespread  to  be  a  de- 
lusion ;  and  by  the  moral  ruin  it  involves.  A  theory 
open  to  contradictions  so  serious  certainly  cannot  be 
entertained  unless  it  be  supported  by  decisive  proof. 
The  only  proof  adduced  is  one  suggested  in  the  above 
extract,  viz.  that  all  other  phenomena  are  governed  by 
invariable  sequence,  and  that  if  human  action  be  not  so 
governed  it  is  a  solitary  exception  to  an  otherwise 
universal  law.  We  are  also  reminded  that  the  progress 
of  human  research  has  greatly  extended  the  realm  of 
invariable  sequence  ;  and  some  have  asserted,  assuming 
the  role  of  a  prophet,  {e.g.  Huxley,  Lay  Sermons,  p.  142,) 
that  future  research  will  "  gradually  extend  the  realm  of 
matter  and  law  until  it  is  coextensive  with  knowledge, 
with  feeling,  and  with  action." 

But  indisputably  human  action  does  occupy,  as  the 
universal  estimate  of  it  loudly  asserts,  a  position  apart 
from,  and  superior  to,  all  other  phenomena.  We  have 
therefore  no  right  to  assume  that  what  is  true  of  the 
lower  is  true  also  of  the  higher.     Certainly,  this  assump- 


26o  HUMAN  FREEDOM  [Part  IV 

tion  is  of  no  weight  against  man's  deep  conviction  that 
in  action  he  is  free ;  and  against  his  experience  of  the 
moral  injury  involved  in  a  denial  of  his  freedom.  More- 
over, the  progress  of  modern  research  is  not  more 
wonderful  than  are  the  limits  of  that  progress.  The 
great  questions,  viz.  the  origin  of  matter,  of  motion,  of 
life,  of  the  moral  sense,  are  as  far  from  solution  to-day  as 
in  the  days  of  the  Greek  philosophers  ;  except  so  far  as 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  has  shed  light  upon  them.  Indeed 
modern  research  has  rather  revealed  the  insolubility  of 
these  problems.  To  assert  the  universality  of  inevitable 
sequence,  is  to  claim  to  have  explored  the  universe  and 
to  have  solved  its  deepest  mysteries.  This  claim  we 
cannot  admit :  and  with  it  falls  the  last  attempt  to  prove 
that  human  life  is  a  delusion  and  man  the  helpless 
victim  of  irresistible  forces. 

We  therefore  infer  that  in  the  moment  of  decision 
man  is  free  to  choose  to  which  of  two  or  more  con- 
tending motives  he  will  yield  ;  that  he  is  not  a  mere 
spectator  of  contending  influences  over  which  he  has  no 
control,  nor  only  an  umpire  who  gives  the  palm  to  the 
stronger  force,  but  that  in  action  he  is  the  actor  and 
that  the  decision  rests  with  himself  alone. 

This  inference  does  something  to  explain  the 
phenomena  of  evil.  For  it  traces  sin,  which  is  itself 
essential  discord,  and  all  its  discordant  results,  to  a 
rational  source  other  than  the  Author  of  the  universe. 
This  by  no  means  implies  that  sin  is  an  effect  without 
a  cause,  but  implies  only  that  its  ccusc  lies  hidden  in 
human  personality,  i.e.  in  a  personality  other  than,  and 


Lect.  XXIX]  HUMAN  FREEDOM  261 

distinct  from,  the  personal  Source  of  the  universe.  It 
irnpHes  only  that  He  who,  in  accomplishment  of  a 
definite  purpose  of  His  own,  created  the  world  created 
in  it  persons  who  are,  like  Himself,  each  one  the 
intelligent  source  of  a  course  of  activity. 

We  cannot  doubt  that,  while  creating  other  sources 
of  activity,  the  intelligent  Author  of  the  universe  fore- 
saw the  activity  which  in  all  ages  would  flow  from  the 
sources  thus  created.  It  has  often  been  asked  why, 
in  full  view  of  all  the  sin  which  He  foresaw  men  would 
commit.  He  gave  to  them  this  terrible  power  of  originat- 
ing action.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  only 
alternative  to  such  free  action  is  universal  mechanical 
necessity.  Such  necessity  would  destroy  all  real  value  of 
human  life.  The  world  as  it  is,  stained  with  sin  and 
full  of  sorrow,  yet  rising  year  by  year  and  century  by 
century  with  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  is  infinitely 
nobler  and  better  than  a  universe  consisting  only  of 
invariable  sequences.  This  alternative,  the  only  one 
possible,  is  sufficient  to  silence,  if  it  cannot  altogether 
remove,  the  objection  just  mentioned.  Certainly,  this 
question,  perplexing  as  it  is,  is  not  sufficient  to  overturn 
the  evidence  quoted  above  from  the  inner  life  of  man 
that  he  is  the  ultimate  author  of  his  own  actions. 

The  teaching  of  Mill  and  Spencer  and  Huxley,  which 
I  have  endeavoured  to  overturn,  is  destructive  both 
of  religion  and  of  morality.  By  destroying  man's  real 
personality  and  reducing  him  to  a  mere  machine,  it 
practically  reduces  God  to  the  same.  It  makes  the 
action    both    of    God    and    of   man    an    inevitable   out- 


HUMAN  FREEDOM  [Part  IV 


working  of  some  mysterious  and  invariable  ultimate 
force,  the  mechanical  source  of  the  universe.  It 
destroys  the  unique  evil  of  sin,  making  it  to  be  only 
a  misfortune.  And  it  leaves  man  without  any  motive 
for  contending  against  sin  as  such,  and  without  power 
to  contend.  Fortunately  a  doctrine  so  destructive  of  all 
that  is  noblest  and  best  is,  as  we  have  seen,  destitute 
of  foundation,  and  is  overturned  by  the  facts  of  human 
consciousness. 

The  results  attained  in  this  lecture  will  help  to 
explain  the  facts  of  Christianity  and  of  the  Christian 
life. 


LECTURE   XXX 

THE  DIVINE-HUMAN  CHRISTIAN  LIFE 

"\T  TE  have  now  found  phenomena  in  human  life 
'  *  and  action  which  cannot  be  traced  directly 
to  the  intelligent  Author  of  life  ;  and  which  therefore 
reveal  a  source  in  some  measure  independent  of  Him. 
This  partially  independent  source  of  action,  we  found 
in  the  power  of  self-determination  of  which  each  man 
is  directly  conscious.  In  other  words,  just  as  the 
universe  with  its  various  forces  and  its  manifold  life 
cannot  be  traced  further  back  than  the  will  of  God, 
so  we  found  phenomena  which  cannot  be  traced 
further  back  than  the  personal  self-will  of  man. 

This  mysterious  power  of  self-determination  must 
be  a  gift  of  God  to  man.  And,  if  so,  it  must,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  have  been  a  part  of  the  original 
purpose  of  creation.  In  other  words,  when  God  re- 
solved to  create  man.  He  resolved  to  give  him  power 
to  originate  action  for  which  man  only  should  be 
responsible.  And  this  purpose  to  create  a  responsible 
being  must  have  been  in  full  view  of  the  entire  future 
activity  of  man.     We  cannot  doubt  that  God  foresaw  all 

the  consequences  of  committing  to  man  this  mysterious 

263 


264  THE  DIVINE-HUMAN  [Part  IV 


and  tremendous  prerogative  of  choice :  and,  foresee- 
ing all,  He  yet  resolved  to  give  this  power  to  man. 
This  inference  from  the  indisputable  facts  of  human 
life,  looked  at  in  the  light  of  the  eternal  nature  of 
God,  will  explain  all  the  facts  of  the  Christian  life,  in 
harmony  with  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament. 

We  have  seen  that  Paul  teaches  or  implies  that  upon 
all  men  God  is  bringing  to  bear  influences  leading  men 
to  repentance  and  salvation  ;  influences  without  which, 
as  Christ  teaches,  none  are  or  can  be  saved.  It  is 
evident  that  some  men  do,  and  others  do  not,  repent. 
The  repentance  and  salvation  of  the  one  class,  being 
altogether  a  result  of  divine  influences,  is  altogether  a 
work  of  God  in  man.  The  continuance  in  sin  of  the 
others  results  entirely  from  their  resistance  to  these 
universal  divine  influences.  And  it  proves  that  these 
influences  are  not  irresistible.  For,  had  they  been  so, 
man's  repentance  would  have  been  exactly  proportion- 
ate to  these  divine  influences  ;  and  therefore  universal. 

All  this  is  in  harmony  with  the  teaching  of  the  whole 
Bible.  For,  as  we  have  seen,  the  work  of  salvation  is 
everywhere  said  to  be  a  creative  work  of  God,  and  on 
the  other  hand  the  blame  of  sin  is  ever  cast  upon  the 
sinner.  So  Christ  says,  as  recorded  in  John  vi.  44, 
"  no  one  can  come  to  Me  except  the  Father  draw 
him  ; "  and,  as  recorded  in  ch.  v.  40,  "  ye  will  not  come 
to  Me  that  ye  may  have  life."  And  so  elsewhere 
frequently.  These  correlative  assertions  can  be  har- 
monised only  by  the  teaching  that  the  work  of  salvation 
is    altogether  God's,   but   that   God    has   thous^ht  fit  to 


Lect.  XXX]  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  265 

make  it  altogether  contingent  on  man's  surrender  to 
divine  influences. 

This  contingency  is  by  no  means  inconsistent  with 
the  omnipotence  of  God.  For  this  attribute  implies, 
not  necessarily  the  actual  putting  forth  of  infinite  power, 
but  a  capacity  for  action  limited  only  by  the  will  of 
God.  None  can  deny  that  God  is  able  to  exert  real 
influences  of  which  the  practical  effect  is  contingent 
on  man's  self  surrender  to  them.  To  deny  this,  would 
be  to  limit  the  power  of  God.  Nor  is  contingency 
inconsistent  with  the  foreknowledge  of  God.  For,  as 
we  learn  from  our  knowledge  of  what  our  fellows  are 
doing,  knowledge  does  not  in  itself  involve  influence 
exerted  on  the  object  of  our  knowledge.  Therefore, 
as  we  know  nothing  about  the  knowledge  of  God  except 
from  the  analogy  of  human  knowledge,  we  have  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  man's  free  agency  is  inconsistent 
with  full  and  certain  divine  foresight  of  all  that  man 
will  do.  This  being  so,  the  above  explanation  is 
not  in  itself  inconceivable,  or  inconsistent  with  the 
nature  of  God. 

What  is  true  of  repentance,  is  true  also  of  all  sub- 
sequent stages  of  the  Christian  life.  Faith  in  Christ  is 
evoked  in  man  by  the  preached  word  and  by  spiritual 
influences  leading  man  to  believe  it.  So  Rom.  x.  17  : 
"  Faith  comes  from  hearing,  and  hearing  by  means  of 
the  word  of  Christ."  To  those  who  believe  the  Gospel, 
God  gives  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  in  them  the  animating 
principle  of  a  new  life  like  that  of  Christ.  In  proportion 
as  the  believer  yields  himself  to   the  cruidancc  of  the 


266  THE  DIVINE-HUMAN  [Part  IV 


Spirit  and  accepts  the  life  which  He  waits  to  impart,  is 
his  own  life  moulded  into  the  likeness  of  this  supreme 
Pattern.  Every  Christlike  thought,  word,  and  act  is  the 
work  of  God  in  him,  an  accomplishment  of  a  divine 
purpose :  whatever  is  unlike  Christ  results  from  his 
refusal  to  bend  to  the  moulding  influence  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.  Thus  in  man's  mysterious  power  to  accept  or 
refuse  the  good  work  of  God  in  himself,  we  find  ex- 
plained the  many  imperfections,  and  the  slow  spiritual 
and  moral  growth,  of  the  professed  servants  of  Christ. 

We  have  already  learnt,  in  Lect.  XXI 1 1.,  that  the 
continuance  of  the  New  Life  is  altogether  contingent  on 
man's  continued  self-surrender  to  divine  influences.  It 
is  therefore,  both  in  its  beginning,  continuance,  and 
growth,  a  work  of  God  in  man,  a  work  conditioned  by 
man's  free  acceptance  of  it. 

This  inference  is  strongly  confirmed  by  the  spiritual 
experience  of  the  servants  of  Christ.  We  are  directly 
conscious  of  a  Hand  from  above  guiding  and  raising  us. 
And  a  review  of  our  past  life  compels  us  to  believe  that 
we  might  have  followed  that  guiding  Hand  much  more 
fully  than  we  actually  did  ;  and  that,  if  we  had  done  so, 
it  would  have  led  and  lifted  us  into  a  richer  and  loftier 
life  than  we  have  ever  known. 

From  the  above  it  follows  that  in  the  Christian  life 
man  is  both  absolutely  passive  and  intensely  active. 
He  is  passive  :  for  every  good  thought,  word,  act,  is 
wrought  in  him  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  But,  inasmuch 
as  the  Spirit,  moving  men  from  within,  ever  prompts 
personal  activity,  man's  self-surrender  to  the  Holy  Spirit 


Lect.  XXX]  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  267 

is  always  followed  by  a  corresponding  personal  putting 
forth  of  all  his  powers.  And  when  he  is  most  passive 
then  is  he  most  active.  For,  when  we  are  completely 
under  the  influence  of  the  Spirit,  then  are  our  powers  of 
body  and  mind  most  fully  put  forth  to  work  out  the 
purposes  of  God. 

Another  form  of  God's  work  in  man  deserves  serious 
attention.  Even  to  those  who  reject  it,  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  and  the  influences  leading  men  to  accept  it  are 
by  no  means  without  effect.  For  their  spiritual  senses 
are  blunted  by  their  resistance  to  the  light.  And  this 
inevitable  result  of  their  refusal  of  salvation  must  be  by 
the  deliberate  purpose  and  righteous  judgment  of  God. 
It  is  the  beginning  of  the  punishment  which  inevitably 
follows  disobedience.  This  purpose  to  punish  is  the 
dark  counterfoil  to  the  eternal  purpose  of  mercy.  Like 
salvation,  this  punishment  is  a  work  of  God  in  man, 
contingent  on  man's  own  action.  But  it  differs  from 
salvation  in  that  its  motive  and  origin  are  not  in  God 
but  in  man.  We  therefore  infer  that  in  the  eternal  past, 
prompted  only  by  His  own  mercy,  God  resolved  to  save 
and  bless,  not  all  men  indiscriminately,  but  those  who 
would,  as  He  foresaw,  accept  salvation,  and  to  punish 
with  blindness  here  and  severer  punishment  hereafter 
those  who  should  resist  to  the  end  His  purpose  of  mercy. 

That  spiritual  insensibility  is  inflicted  by  God,  is 
frequently  taught  in  the  Bible.  So  Rom.  xi.  8,  quoting 
from  Isa.  xxix.  10 :  "  God  gave  them  a  spirit  of  stupor, 
eyes  that  they  should  not  see,  and  ears  that  they  should 
not  hear,  until  this  very  day."     In  this  sense  we  must 


258  THE  DIVINE-HUMAN  [Part  IV 

understand  the  twofold  assertion  in  Rom.  ix.  i8  :  "on 
whom  He  will,  He  has  mercy,  and  whom  He  will  He 
hardens." 

The  above  teaching  explains  very  much  in  the  course 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  among  men,  and  especially  the 
slow  and  chequered  progress  of  Christianity.  It  has 
been  objected  that  the  slow  progress  of  the  Gospel,  the 
evils  rampant  in  Christian  nations,  the  many  abuses  in 
the  Churches,  and  the  defective  morality  of  many 
Christians,  disprove  the  divine  origin  of  the  Gospel  ; 
that  if  it  were  from  God  it  would  move  forward  with 
rapid  and  resistless  progress,  and  bring  all  nations  and 
all  men  to  bow  to  Christ  with  unreserved  submission. 
All  these  imperfections  and  this  slow  progress  are 
explained  by  human  freedom.  If,  as  we  have  seen,  God 
thought  fit  to  give  to  man  the  mysterious  power  to 
accept  or  refuse  His  best  gifts,  and  to  yield  to  or  resist 
His  spiritual  influences,  we  wonder  not  that  in  His 
purpose  of  mercy  He  resolved  to  respect  the  freedom 
thus  given  and  to  permit  man  to  refuse  the  offered 
mercy.  Admit  this,  and  all  is  explained.  Because  man 
is  free,  the  progress  of  Christianity  has  been  hindered  by 
all  the  influences  which  darken  the  mind  and  warp  the 
right  action  of  man.  Because  the  Gospel  is  from  God, 
it  survived  the  hostility  which  at  the  first  threatened  to 
destroy  it,  has  changed  the  whole  aspect  of  human  life, 
has  become  the  accepted  belief  of  all  progressive  nations, 
has  thrown  off  many  corruptions  derived  from  the 
human  imperfections  of  its  advocates  and  adherents,  and 
bids  fair  soon  to  cover  the  earth. 


Lect.  XXX]  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  269 

Moreover,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  slow  progress 
of  Christianity,  conditioned  by  man's  free  surrender  to 
divine  influences,  is  infinitely  better  than  the  mechanical 
progress  produced  by  irresistible  divine  influences.  The 
loyalty  of  freemen  is  grander  far  than  the  unconscious 
and  perfect  obedience  of  the  planets  in  their  orbits. 
That  man  is  actually  free  to  yield  to  or  resist  the  divine 
influences  leading  to  salvation,  we  have  found  abundant 
proof  It  is  equally  evident  that  freedom  to  resist  them 
is  for  man's  highest  good,  singly  and  collectively.  And 
this  freedom,  taken  in  connection  with  God's  eternal 
purpose  to  save  and  bless  mankind,  accounts  for  all  the 
facts  of  Christianity. 

The  way  of  salvation,  as  outlined  above,  is  in  harmony 
with  the  teaching  of  the  entire  Bible.  It  is  in  harmony 
with  the  doctrines  of  election  and  predestination  as 
taught  by  Paul  :  for,  as  we  have  seen,  God's  eternal 
purpose  to  receive  into  His  favour  and  conform  to  the 
image  of  Christ  all  who  believe  the  Gospel  involves  a 
real  election  and  predestination.  It  is  in  harmony  with, 
and  is  required  by,  the  frequent  teaching  of  the  New 
Testament  that  Christ  died  for  all  men,  that  God  will 
have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  that  salvation  is  altogether 
a  work  of  God.  It  is  also  in  harmony  with  the  many 
warnings  which  imply  that  they  who  perish  do  so  only 
through  their  own  refusal  of  salvation. 

This  teaching  has  been  held  in  all  ages,  and  is  held 
to-day,  by  a  large  proportion  of  Christian  teachers.  But 
it  has  been  confronted  by  another  theory  which  now 
demands  attention 


270  THE   DIVINE-HUMAN  [Part  IV 

Calmn  taught  correctly  and  earnestly  that  salvation, 
from   the  first  good   desire  until  victory  over  death,  is 
entirely  a  work  of  God  and  an  accomplishment  of  His 
eternal   purpose,  that  we  should  never  have    begun    to 
seek   Him   if  He  had  not  first  sought  us,  and  that  our 
seeking  Him  was  a  result  of  His  drawing  us  to  Himself, 
that  our  faith  is  wrought  in   us  by  the  word  of  God 
and  by  influences  leading  us  to  believe  it,  and  that  every 
victory  over  sin  and  self  is  God's  gift  to  us  and  work 
in  us.     But   from   this  correct  teaching  he    incorrectly 
inferred  that  God  brings  to   bear,  in    pursuance  of  an 
eternal   purpose,   upon    some    of    those    who    hear  the 
Gospel   and  not  on  others,  influences  which   invariably 
lead  to  repentance,  faith,  justification,  and  eternal  salva- 
tion ;  and  that  the  reason  why  these  influences  (without 
which,  owing  to  the  completeness  of  the  fall,  none  are 
or  can  be  saved)  are  not  exerted  upon  some  men  while 
they  are  upon   others  is  entirely  in  God  and  not  at  all 
in  man.     So   Calvin's  Institutes ,  bk.  iii.  23.   i  :  "  whom 
God    passes   by    He   reprobates  ;    and    from    no   other 
cause   than    His   determination    to  exclude  them  from 
the  inheritance  which  He  predestines  for  His  children. 
.  .  .  The    obstinate   are   not   converted,   because    God 
exerts   not   that   mightier  grace   of  which    He    is    not 
destitute  if  He  chose  to  display  it."      Also    §  7  :    "I 
inquire  again  how  it  came  to  pass  that  the  fall  of  Adam, 
independent  of  any  remedy,  should  involve   so    many 
nations   with  their  infant  children  in  eternal  death,  but 
because  such  was  the  will  of  God.     It  is  an  awful  decree 
I  confess  ;  but  no  one   can   deny   that    God   foreknew 


Lect.  XXX I  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  271 

the  future  fall  of  man  before  He  created  him,  and  that 
He  foreknew  it  because  it  was  appointed  by  His  own 
decree."  Also  ch.  24.  12  :  "the  same  sermon  is  ad- 
dressed to  a  hundred  persons  :  twenty  receive  it  with 
obedience  and  faith  ;  the  others  despise,  or  ridicule,  or 
reject,  or  condemn  it.  If  it  be  replied  that  the  differ- 
ence proceeds  from  their  wickedness  and'  perverscness, 
that  will  afford  no  satisfaction  ;  because  the  minds  of 
others  would  have  been  influenced  by  the  same  wicked- 
ness but  for  the  correction  of  the  divine  goodness.'* 
And  §  13:  "let  us  not  refuse  to  say  with  Augustine, 
*God  could  change  the  will  of  the  wicked  into  good, 
because  He  is  omnipotent.  Why  then  does  He  not  do 
it?  Because  He  is  unwilling.  Why  He  is  unwilling, 
remains  with  Himself  " 

This  teaching  of  Calvin  was  derived  apparently,  as 
the  last  quotation  suggests,  from  the  much  earlier  teach- 
ing of  Augustine.  But  Augustine  differs  from  Calvin  in 
supposing  that  all  infants  who  die  without  Baptism  will 
perish,  whereas  baptised  infants  will  be  saved  ;  and  that 
from  some  of  the  regenerate  God  withholds  the  gift 
of  perseverance  and  thus  permits  them  to  perish  finally. 
So  Reproof  and  Grace  ch.  18  :  "  It  is  indeed  to  be 
wondered  at,  and  wondered  at  much,  that  to  some  of 
His  sons  whom  He  has  regenerated  in  Christ,  to  whom 
he  has  given  faith,  hope,  love,  He  does  not  give  per- 
severance :  while  to  children  of  strangers  He  forgives 
so  great  crimes,  and  by  imparted  grace  makes  them  His 
sons.     Who    does    not    wonder    at    this?     Who    is    not 

utterly  amazed  at  it  ?     But  also  this  is  not  less  wonderful, 
19 


272  THE  DIVINE-HUMAN  [Part  IV 

and  nevertheless  true,  and  so  evident  that  not  even  the 
very  enemies  of  the  grace  of  God  are  able  to  find  out 
how  to  deny  it,  viz.  that  God  makes  to  be  strangers 
to  His  Kingdom,  whither  He  sends  their  parents,  some 
of  the  sons  of  His  friends,  i.e.  of  regenerated  and  good 
believers,  who  go  forth  hence  in  childhood  without 
Baptism  ;  for  whom  He,  in  whose  power  are  all  things, 
might,  if  He  would,  procure  the  grace  of  this  font  ; 
and  brings  some  of  the  sons  of  His  enemies  into  the 
hands  of  Christians,  and  through  this  font  introduces 
them  into  the  kingdom  from  which  their  parents  are 
strangers  ;  while  neither  the  one  nor  the  other,  being 
children,  have  merit  or  demerit  of  their  own  will." 
The  same  argument  is  found  in  Grace  and  Freewill 
ch.  44 ;  Predestination  of  the  Saints  ch.  24 ;  The  Gift 
of  Perseverance  ch.  21. 

That  the  same  argument  is  used  by  Augustine  four 
times  in  as  many  different  treatises,  reveals  its  great 
value  in  his  eyes  ;  and  suggests  that  his  teaching  that 
from  some  men  God  withholds  influences  which  save 
others  was  an  inference  from  his  teaching  that,  whereas 
baptised  infants  dying  in  infancy  are  saved,  the  unbap- 
tised  perish.  If  this  be  so,  the  distinctive  features  of 
Calvin's  teaching  about  the  divine  decrees  are  derived 
ultimately  from  the  ecclesiastical  doctrine  of  Baptismal 
Regeneration,  a  doctrine  rejected  by  most  Calvinists. 

The  teaching  that  upon  some  men  and  not  upon  others 
God  brings  to  bear  influences  invariably  followed  by  salva- 
tion, and  that  the  reason  why  these  influences  are  not 
brought  to  bear  on  those  who  perish  is  in  God  and  not 


Lect.  XXX]  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  273 

in  man,  is  utterly  unworthy  of  the  universal  love  of  Him 
whose  tender  mercies  are  over  all  His  works.  And  it  is 
unjust.  For  it  makes  the  ultimate  reason  why,  while 
one  man  is  saved,  another  is  lost,  to  be  in  God  and  not 
in  man.  This  implies  that  God  does  not  treat  all  men 
on  the  same  principles.  It  contradicts  the  abundant 
teaching  of  the  New  Testament  that  Christ  died  for  all 
men.  For  He  died  in  order  that  men  who  deserve  to 
die  may  have  eternal  life  :  and  if  there  were  men  from 
whom  God  had  from  eternity  resolved  to  withhold  in- 
fluences without  which  none  can  be  saved,  in  no  sense 
can  it  be  said  that  Christ  died  for  them. 

A  strong  protest  against  Calvin's  teaching  about  pre- 
destination was  given  by  Arminius,  Professor  of  Theology 
at  Leyden,  who  died  in  A.D.  1609.  His  followers  pre- 
sented to  the  States  of  Holland  in  A.D.  16 10  a  statement 
of  their  teaching,  which  was  identical  with  that  of 
Arminius,  in  the  form  of  a  Remonstrance  in  five  articles. 
From  these  articles  they  became  known  as  the  Remon- 
strants. 

Of  these,  Art.  i  is  as  follows.  "That  God,  by  an 
eternal,  unchangeable  purpose  in  Jesus  Christ  His  Son 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  has  determined,  out 
of  the  fallen,  sinful  race  of  men,  to  save  in  Christ,  for 
Christ's  sake,  and  through  Christ,  those  who,  through 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  shall  believe  in  His  Son 
Jesus,  and  shall  persevere  in  this  faith  and  obedience  of 
faith,  through  this  grace  even  to  the  end  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  leave  the  incorrigible  and  unbelieving  in 
sin   and   under  wrath    and  to  condemn  them   as  alien 


274  THE  DIVINE-HUMAN  [Part  IV 

from  Christ,  according  to  the  word  of  the  Gospel  in 
John  iii.  36,  '  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  ever- 
lasting Hfe :  and  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not 
see  life ;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him  ; '  and 
according  to  other  passages  also  of  Scripture." 

Art.  4  is  as  follows.  "  That  this  grace  of  God  is  the 
beginning,  continuance,  and  accomplishment  of  all  good, 
even  to  this  extent,  that  the  regenerate  man  himself, 
without  prevenient  or  assisting,  awakening,  following, 
and  co-operative  grace,  can  neither  think,  will,  nor  do 
good,  nor  withstand  any  temptations  to  evil ;  so  that  all 
good  deeds  or  movements  that  can  be  conceived  must 
be  ascribed  to  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ.  But,  as 
respects  the  mode  of  the  operation  of  this  grace,  it  is  not 
irresistible,  inasmuch  as  it  is  written  concerning  many 
that  they  *  have  resisted  the  Holy  Spirit : '  Acts  vii.,  and 
elsewhere  in  many  places." 

It  will  be  noticed  (see  Art.  5)  that  the  Remonstrants 
were  uncertain  whether  they  who  have  received  spiritual 
life  can  finally  fall.  Otherwise  the  teaching  of  these 
articles  is  in  complete  accord  with  the  teaching  of  the 
New  Testament  as  expounded  in  this  volume. 

The  Dutch  followers  of  Arminius  soon  developed  a 
tendency  to  Rationalism.  And  this  tendency  somewhat 
discredited  their  protest  against  the  teaching  of  Calvin. 
But  it  seems  to  me  best  to  reserve  the  term  Arminianism 
for  the  actual  teaching  of  Arminius  which  was  formulated 
by  the  Remonstrants.  And  this  teaching  asserts  clearly 
the  distinctive  doctrines  of  the  Gospel. 

The    Synod   of  Dort   condemned   the   tenets  of  the 


Lect.  XXX]  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  275 

Remonstrants  ;  and  formulated  five  Heads  of  Doctrine, 
in  opposition  to  them,  and  in  general,  though  not 
complete,  agreement  with  the  teaching  of  Calvin.  From 
these  I  quote,  under  the  first  head  of  Predestination, 
Art.  I  :  "As  all  men  have  sinned  in  Adam,  lie  under 
the  curse,  and  are  obnoxious  to  eternal  death,  God 
would  have  done  no  injustice  by  leaving  them  all  to 
perish,  and  delivering  them  over  to  condemnation  on 
account  of  sin."  Also  Art.  6 :  "  That  some  receive  the 
gift  of  faith  from  God,  and  others  do  not  receive  it, 
proceeds  from  God's  eternal  decree  :  '  for  known  to  God 
are  all  His  works  from  the  beginning  of  the  world:' 
Acts  XV.  18,  Eph.  i.  II.  According  to  which  decree 
He  graciously  softens  the  hearts  of  the  elect,  however 
obstinate,  and  inclines  them  to  believe  ;  while  He  leaves 
the  non-elect,  in  His  just  judgment,  to  their  own 
wickedness  and  obduracy."  Yet,  with  happy  incon- 
sistency, under  the  second  head  Art.  6  reads  :  "  Whereas 
many  who  are  called  by  the  Gospel  do  not  repent  nor 
believe  in  Christ  but  perish  in  unbelief;  this  is  not 
owing  to  any  defect  or  insufficiency  in  the  sacrifice 
offered  by  Christ  upon  the  cross  but  is  wholly  to  be 
imputed  to  themselves." 

Art.  17  of  the  Anglican  Church,  and  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith,  reveal  the  influence  in  England 
and  Scotland  of  Calvin's  teaching.  But  in  these  docu- 
ments its  harsher  features  are  modified. 

Through  the  preaching  of  Wesley  and  the  influence 
of  the  Methodist  revival  the  teaching  of  Arminius,  as 
embodied  in  the  Remonstrant  Articles,  has  obtained  wide 


276  THE  DIVINE-HUMAN  [Part  IV 

acceptance  in  England  and  America.  The  Arminian 
modification  of  the  teaching  of  Calvin  is  the  belief, 
more  or  less  clearly  held,  of  nearly  all  the  religious 
writers  of  the  present  day.  So  Blunt,  Dictionary  of 
Sects,  etc.,  art.  Arminimis,  says,  "  In  still  more  recent 
times,  the  dreadful  dogma  of  Calvinism  respecting 
Predestination  and  Election  has  been  held  by  com- 
paratively few  persons,  at  least  in  the  Church  of 
England,  and  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Redemption, 
for  which  Arminius  chiefly  contended,  is  not  disputed 
by  any  Theologians  of  importance."  Also  Canon  Perry 
in  The  Students  English  ChurcJi  History,  Third  Period, 
p.  88,  writes  :  "  It  is  hardly  possible  to  exaggerate  the 
debt  which  the  Church  of  England  owes  to  John  Wesley 
in  respect  of  his  teaching  on  absolute  decrees,  particular 
redemption,  final  perseverance,  and  the  other  doctrines 
involved  in  the  Calvinistic  controversy.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  consistent  opposition  which  he  maintained 
to  these  views,  and  the  .strenuous  battle  fought  by  him 
and  his  assistants  against  them,  the  cause  of  spiritual 
religion  in  the  Church  of  England  might  have  been 
inseparably  connected  with  an  antinomian  system,  which 
impeaches  the  moral  attributes  of  the  Deity  as  much  as 
it  excludes  the  proper  place  of  righteousness  in  man." 

Of  the  two  great  factors  of  the  Christian  life  men- 
tioned above,  Augustine  and  Calvin  held  firmly  the 
first  and  chief,  viz.  that  all  good  in  man  is  a  work  of 
God  and  an  accomplishment  of  His  eternal  purpose. 
But  this  great  truth  obscured,  in  their  minds,  the  com- 
plementary truth  that  the  actual  result  of  these  divine 


Lect.  XXX]  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  277 

influences  is  altogether  conditioned  by  man's  free 
self-surrender  to  them.  The  former  truth  was  held  as 
firmly  by  Arminius  and  Wesley  as  by  Calvin.  But 
these  later  teachers  added  to  it  the  complementary 
doctrine  of  man's  freedom  to  accept  or  refuse  salvation, 
which  Calvin  rejected,  but  which  is  necessary  to  preserve 
the  former  doctrine  from  serious  perversion. 


LECTURE   XXXI 

THE  ETERNAL  REALISATION 

WE  have  now  traced  in  outline  the  salvation  of 
man  from  sin  and  ruin,  his  introduction  into  the 
favour  and  family  of  God,  and  the  nature,  relations,  and 
growth  of  the  new  life  of  the  adopted  sons  of  God, 
as  these  are  depicted  in  the  New  Testament.  We 
found  all  men  guilty  of  past  transgression,  held  fast  by 
present  bondage  to  sin  which  they  were  powerless  to 
break,  and  exposed  to  future  punishment.  But  we 
heard  the  voice  of  Christ  proclaiming  pardon  and  a  new 
life  of  liberty  for  all  who  should  put  their  trust  in  Him. 
We  also  learned  that,  in  order  to  harmonise  with  His  own 
justice  the  justification  of  those  whom  the  Law  justly 
condemned,  God  gave  up  His  Son  to  die.  And  we 
learned  that,  to  His  adopted  sons,  He  gives  the  Spirit 
of  His  Son  to  be  in  them  the  animating  principle  of 
a  new  life  of  unreserved  devotion  to  God  like  the  life 
of  Christ.  We  found  also  that  this  salvation  from  sin 
and  this  new  life  in  Christ  involve  victory  over  all  hostile 
influences  from  without  or  within  us,  and  a  profound 
peace  which  no  human  or  infrahuman  power  can  disturb. 

This  salvation,  we  found   to  be,  from   beginning   to 

278 


Lect.  XXXI]        THE  ETERNAL   REALISATION  279 

completion,  a  work  of  Him  who  made  man  and  the 
universe.  But  we  found  also  that  it  was  in  every  step 
conditioned  by  man's  self-surrender  to  the  purpose  and 
work  of  God.  Just  as  in  human  life  spirit  and  flesh 
touch  and  inter-penetrate  each  other  at  every  point,  so 
is  the  new  life  in  Christ,  to  the  fullest  extent,  both 
divine  and  human. 

From  the  nature  of  God  as  reflected  in  human  nature, 
we  inferred  that  whatever  God  does  in  time  is  an  accom- 
plishment of  a  deliberate  purpose  in  the  mind  of  God 
before  time  began.  And  so  closely  related  are  the 
salvation  of  each  individual,  the  historic  development 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  among  men  both  before  and 
after  Christ,  and  the  material  universe,  that  we  cannot 
doubt  that  all  these  are  mutually  related  and  essential 
parts  of  one  comprehensive  and  eternal  purpose.  In 
other  words,  matter  and  motion  were  created  and  the 
universe  and  our  planet  were  evolved  in  order  that  this 
last,  surrounded  by  the  universe  of  stars,  might  become 
a  platform  for  human  life,  an  environment  fitted  for 
the  moral  and  spiritual  education  of  men. 

This  eternal  purpose  has  been  to  a  certain  extent 
accomplished.  All  around  us  is  the  material  universe, 
the  beautiful  temporary  home  of  the  human  family  of 
God.  In  the  happy  experience  of  the  servants  of  Christ 
we  see  a  great  salvation  wrought  by  God,  and  in  the 
Church  of  Christ,  in  its  various  branches,  imperfect  yet 
rising,  we  see  the  broad  foundations  of  the  eternal 
Kingdom  of  God. 

This  present  accomplishment  is  a  sure  pledge  of  a  still 


28o  THE  ETERNAL  REALISATION  [Part  IV 

more  glorious  accomplishment  to  come.  For,  although 
manifestly  divine,  it  is  manifestly  imperfect.  The 
material  universe  is  subject  to  decay.  Upon  all  that 
lives  is  written  the  doom  of  death.  And  this  decay  and 
death  limit  the  development  of  life.  Moreover  the 
things  which  are  seen  can  never  satisfy  the  deep  yearning 
of  the  heart  of  man.  If  what  we  see  is  all  that  exists 
and  will  exist,  then  is  either  the  creative  purpose  or  its 
realisation  imperfect.  The  present  realisation  is  un- 
worthy of  a  Creator  possessing  infinite  resources  and 
wisdom,  and  moved  by  infinite  love. 

Still  more  conspicuously  imperfect  are  Christian  men 
and  Churches  and  nations  as  we  see  them  around  us  to- 
day. Superior  as  they  are  to  all  that  is  non-Christian, 
in  all  that  constitutes  human  excellence,  they  fall  far 
below  the  ideal  presented  by  Christ.  If  the  present 
realisation  of  that  ideal  be  all  that  will  be,  then  is  the 
purpose  for  which  the  eternal  Son  became  man  only  in 
small  part  attained.  For  He  came  to  save  the  world 
and  to  draw  all  men  to  Himself. 

Along  with  this  imperfection,  we  notice,  in  all  ages 
and  before  history  began,  indisputable  marks  of  sustained 
progress.  We  see  it  in  the  progressive  adaptation  of  our 
planet  to  be  the  home  of  life  ;  and  still  more  clearly  in 
the  development  of  life  from  its  lowliest  forms  up  to  the 
appearance  of  man.  We  notice  the  general  progress  of 
civilisation.  We  observe  also,  in  ancient  Israel  and  to 
some  extent  in  other  nations,  advance  in  a  more  spiritual 
conception  of  God  and  in  juster  views  of  man's  duty 
to  God.     Still  more  conspicuous  is  the  progress  of  the 


Lect.  XXXI]        THE  ETERNAL  REALISATION  281 

Christian  nations.  The  disgraceful  contentions  of  some 
of  the  early  Councils  of  the  Church  would  be  impossible 
now.  No  one  can  compare  the  state  of  Europe  to-day 
with  what  it  was  a  hundred  years  ago  without  gratitude 
for  the  change.  In  spite  of  many  defects,  and  possibly 
occasional  retrogression  in  certain  details,  the  history  of 
the  Christian  nations,  especially  during  the  last  four 
centuries,  has  been  marked  by  unmistakable  advance, 
material,  intellectual,  and  spiritual.  Progress  is  evidently 
the  law  of  the  universe  and  the  will  and  purpose  of  its 
Creator. 

This  widespread  progress,  taken  in  connection  with 
the  imperfection  still  clinging  to  whatever  exists  around 
us,  opens  a  sure  prospect  of  progress  still  to  come.  The 
various  social  forces,  and  the  guiding  Hand  divine,  which 
have  brought  us  to  what  we  are,  are  still  operating  in  the 
world  and  still  guiding  its  destinies.  A  review  of  the 
history  of  the  Church  justifies  a  hope  that  a  time  will 
come  when  the  ancient  forms  of  error  which  still  hold  in 
bondage  portions  of  our  race  will  disappear,  and  when  to 
a  measure  hitherto  unknown  Christ  will  reign  in  the 
hearts  of  men  and  in  the  social  life  of  the  world. 

But  whatever  progress  may  be  in  store  for  the  present 
order  of  things,  that  order  itself  bears  marks  of  imper- 
fection which  seem  to  foretell  its  dissolution.  Modern 
Science  has  done  much  to  alleviate  suffering  and  some- 
thing to  lengthen  life.  But  it  gives  no  promise  of 
complete  removal  of  suffering  and  death.  And  these  are 
strangely  incongruous  to  the  dignity  of  those  who  are 
children  of  a  Father  in  heaven. 


282  THE  ETERNAL  REALISATION  [Part  IV 

It  may  be  replied  that  the  faithful  servants  of  Christ 
will  escape  by  death  from  all  the  ills  which  pertain  to 
the  present  life.  But  such  escape  is  a  rending  asunder 
of  elements,  spirit  and  flesh,  whose  union  is  a  conspicuous 
and  wonderful  feature  of  life  in  all  its  visible  forms,  and 
evidently  a  part  of  the  creative  purpose  of  God.  We 
ask  eagerly  whether  our  beautiful  world  is  for  ever  to  be 
a  vale  of  tears  and  an  abode  of  death. 

The  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  as  we  shall  see  in 
another  volume,  looked  forward  to  the  return  of  Christ 
from  heaven  to  earth,  to  put  an  end  for  ever  to  the 
reign  of  sorrow  and  death,  to  close  the  present  order  of 
nature,  to  create  a  new  earth  and  heaven  never  to  be 
soiled  by  sin  or  darkened  by  sorrow  or  overshadowed 
by  death,  and  to  set  up  an  eternal  Kingdom  in  which 
every  citizen  will  share  the  royalty  of  his  Lord. 

This  glorious  City  of  God  will  be  the  final  and  com- 
plete realisation  of  the  creative  and  redemptive  purpose 
of  God.  Before  the  world  was,  that  purpose  stood,  as 
definite  and  perfect  thought,  before  the  Eye  of  God. 
It  was  the  ultimate  goal  of  all  other  purposes  of  God. 
The  creation  of  the  world  and  of  man,  the  mission  of 
the  Son  of  God,  and  the  founding  and  development  of 
the  Church  of  Christ,  were  but  steps  leading  up  to  its 
realisation.  And  in  its  foreseen  realisation,  the  Mind  of 
God,  Creator  and  Redeemer,  found  from  eternity,  and 
will  for  ever  find,  its  complete  satisfaction. 

Every  stone  of  that  City  will  be  laid  by  the  Hand  of 
God  in  accordance  with  a  divine  plan  And  it  will  be  a 
work  of  man  as  truly  as  of  God.     Indeed,  that  it  might 


Lect.  XXXI]        THE  ETERNAL   REALISATION  283 

be  such,  the  Creator  Son  became  Man,  in  order  that 
as  Man  He  might  redeem  both  man  and  the  material 
world.  And  the  Son,  in  this  great  work,  associated  with 
Himself  His  adopted  brethren  of  the  human  race. 
They  share  His  work,  that  they  may  share  His  joy.  To 
what  extent  they  do  so,  depends  upon  themselves.  But 
even  man's  refusal  to  co-operate  was  foreseen  by  God 
and  taken  up  into  His  purpose.  Consequently,  although 
it  will  exclude  the  individual  from  the  blessings  designed 
for  him  by  God,  it  cannot  prevent  the  accomplishment 
of  the  purpose  of  God. 

Thus  the  universe  and  human  life  in  it  began  with 
an  eternal  thought  in  the  mind  of  an  intelligent  and 
almighty  and  all-loving  Creator :  it  will  find  its  con- 
summation in  the  complete  and  eternal  realisation  of 
that  thought.  The  present  universe  and  human  life  and 
history  as  we  know  them  are  the  transition  from  the 
eternal  thought  to  the  eternal  realisation.  In  that 
transition  we  are  permitted  and  compelled  to  take 
part.  What  our  part  is  to  be,  depends  entirely  upon 
ourselves.  And  upon  our  part  in  the  process  now  going 
on,  depends  our  place  in  the  realisation. 


PART   V 

THE  REVELATION  OF  GOD   IN  THE  NEW 
LIIE  IN   CHRIST 


LECTURE   XXXII 

GOD   OUR  FATHER 

THE  salvation  of  man  and  the  new  life  in  Christ 
which  we  have  now  traced  in  outline  from  their 
ultimate  source  in  the  eternal  thought  of  God  up  to 
their  partial  realisation  in  the  present  experience  of  the 
servants  of  Christ,  are,  as  wrought  by  God,  a  revelation 
of  His  nature  ;  a  revelation  verifying  and  supplementing 
that  already  found  in  the  material  universe  and  in  the 
moral  sense  and  the  ordinary  social  life  of  men.  This 
fuller  revelation  demands  further  attention. 

In  the  visible  world,  we  found,  clearly  impressed,  foot- 
prints of  an  intelligent  Creator.  And  in  the  inborn 
moral  sense,  and  in  the  manifest  sequence  of  action  and 
retribution,  we  found  proof  that  the  Maker  of  men  has 
marked  out  a  moral  path  along  which  He  would  have 
them  go  and  in  which  path  only  they  can  attain  their 

284 


Lect.  XXXII]  GOD   OUR  FATHER  285 

highest  welfare.  In  the  visible  creation  we  see  the 
resour«es  of  the  Creator  :  and  in  the  phenomena  of  the 
moral  life  we  hear  the  voice  of  a  righteous  Lawgiver 
who  will  recompense  every  man  according  to  his  action. 

These  results  of  our  observation  were  confirmed  by 
the  great  facts  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  For  we  found 
complete  historical  proof  that  these  broad  principles  of 
Natural  Theology  were  frequently  asserted  by  Him  and 
underlay  His  entire  teaching  ;  that  He  claimed  to  teach 
as  one  occupying  an  intimate  and  unique  relation  to 
God  ;  and  that  in  proof  of  this  claim  He  was  raised  from 
the  dead.  We  also  found  proof  that  the  moral  and 
religious  influence  of  Christ  had  changed  for  good  the 
entire  course  of  human  history  and  life.  The  testimony 
of  the  Conqueror  of  death  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
we  could  not  dispute.  We  therefore  joyfully  accepted 
His  word  as  complete  confirmation  of  our  own  inferences 
touching  the  existence  and  nature  of  God. 

These  inferences  have  now  received  further  con- 
firmation, or  rather  absolute  verification,  in  the  actual 
experience  of  the  servants  of  Christ.  For  they  who 
believe  in  Him  have  found,  in  proportion  to  the  confi- 
dence with  w^hich  they  accept  and  obey  His  teaching, 
an  inward  moral  power  raising  and  strengthening  their 
own  moral  sense,  enabling  them  more  and  more  to  obey 
its  commands,  and  thus  raising  their  whole  life.  In 
days  gone  by,  they  trembled  under  the  condemnation  of 
a  judge  enthroned  within  from  w^hose  judgment  was 
neither  appeal  nor  escape.  The  same  judge  now  bears 
witness,  in  spite  of  much  felt  imperfection,  to  a  sustained 


286  GOD  OUR  FATHER  [Part  V 

growth  of  all  that  in  them  which  is  noblest  and  best. 
And  this  growth,  being  in  harmony  with  that  which 
they  know  to  be  the  supreme  law  of  their  nature,  is 
to  them  a  decisive  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel 
they  have  believed. 

This  moral  growth  is,  as  a  wide  experience  proves, 
conditioned  by  belief  in  an  intelligent  Ruler  of  the 
world,  the  Enemy  of  all  that  the  moral  sense  condemns 
and  the  Friend  of  all  that  it  approves.  This  faith  in 
God  we  find  to  be  day  by  day  a  source  of  highest 
blessing.  This  result  of  faith  attests  the  reality  of  Him 
in  whom  His  people  trust ;  and  in  whom  trusting  they 
receive  that  which  is  better  to  them  than  all  earthly 
good.  For,  unless  their  faith  be  an  apprehension  of 
reality,  then  are  the  noblest  elements  of  human  life, 
and  life  itself,  unreal.  Thus  the  daily  experience  of  the 
servants  of  Christ  reveals  to  them  a  presence  as  real, 
and  infinitely  greater,  than  the  presence  of  their  fellows 
around.  In  this  sense,  the  New  Life  in  Christ  is  a 
revelation,  to  those  who  possess  it,  and  in  some  measure 
to  those  who  observe  them,  of  an  unseen  Creator  and 
Ruler  and  Friend.     It  is  personal  intercourse  with  God. 

The  Gospel  of  Christ,  as  thus  verified,  not  only  con- 
firms, but  greatly  enlarges,  the  earlier  revelation  of  God 
in  nature.  A  conspicuous  element  of  the  teaching  of 
Christ  and  of  the  entire  New  Testament  is  that  God  is 
our  Father.  Indisputably,  He  who  claimed  to  be 
Himself  the  Son  of  God,  and  vindicated  His  claim  by 
victory  over  death,  taught  His  disciples,  as  sons  of  God, 
to  think  of  God  as  their  Father.     This  term  involves  an 


Lect.  XXXII]  GOD   OUR  FATHER  287 

analogy  ;  and  makes  every  form  of  fatherly  excellence 
among  men  to  be  a  mirror  reflecting,  amid  human 
imperfection,  the  infinite  nature  of  God.  It  reveals  in 
God  a  father's  heart  which,  in  virtue  of  His  relation  to 
us  as  the  Source  of  our  being,  loves  and  yearns  for  His 
children  on  earth  ;  and  it  assures  us  that,  from  His 
infinite  resources.  He  will  provide  for,  and  guide,  and 
protect  us.  It  places  us  in  a  happy  relation  to  the 
Creator  and  Ruler  of  the  universe  very  dimly  perceived 
until  the  appearance  of  Christ ;  and  thus  places  the 
universe  itself,  as  our  Father's  house,  in  a  new  relation 
to  us.  In  that  Father's  love,  the  love  of  Him  who  holds 
all  things  in  His  hands,  His  people  rest. 

Involved  in  the  fatherhood  of  God,  and  a  very  definite 
and  conspicuous  element  of  the  teaching  of  the  New 
Testament  about  God  is  His  Love  to  man.  This  love 
finds  conspicuous  manifestation  in  the  gift  of  His  Son 
to  die  for  man.  So  John  iii.  16:  "God  so  loved  the 
world  that  He  gave  His  only-begotten  Son  ; "  an  ex- 
position of  the  foregoing  statement  that  "  the  Son  of 
Man  must  needs  be  lifted  up."  Also  i  John  iv.  10  : 
"  herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  Him  but  that  He 
loved  us  and  sent  His  Son  to  be  a  propitiation  for  our 
sins."  Similarly  Rom.  v.  8  :  "  God  commends  His 
own  love  toward  us  that,  while  we  were  still  sinners, 
Christ  died  on  our  behalf."  And  Eph.  ii.  4:  "God,  being 
rich  in  mercy,  because  of  His  much  love  with  which 
He  loved  us  .  .  .  made  us  alive  together  with  Christ." 

In  two  of  these    passages,    the  proof  of  God's   love 

is  placed  in  the  intimate  relation  of  Christ  to  God   as 
30 


288  GOD  OUR  FATHER  [Part  V 

His  only-begotten  Son.  So  also  Rom.  viii.  32  :  "  He 
that  spared  not  His  own  Son  but  graciously  gave  Him 
up  for  us  all."  We  have  already  seen  {ThrougJi  Clirist  to 
God,  pp.  215,  216)  that  the  term  Soji  of  God  notes  an 
essential  relation  between  two  eternal  Persons.  That  on 
behalf  of  men  created  in  time  God  gave  up  to  suffering 
and  death  the  Companion  of  His  own  eternity,  is,  as  the 
above  passages  assert,  a  supreme  proof  of  His  love  to 
man.  Thus  the  teaching  of  Christ  and  the  Apostles 
about  His  relation  to  God  is  an  essential  element  of 
the  revelation  in  Christ  of  the  infinite  love  of  God. 
For  the  costliness  of  the  means  of  salvation  is  a  measure 
of  the  love  which  prompted  it.  And,  apart  from  this 
eternal  relation  of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  we  cannot 
conceive  so  costly  a  proof  of  divine  love. 

The  above  teaching  finds  its  culmination  in  i  John 
iv.  8,  16,  where,  in  connection  with  the  love  manifested 
in  the  mission  of  the  Son,  the  writer  uses  twice  the 
remarkable  words  GOD  IS  Love.  These  words  give  to 
Love  a  unique  place  among  the  moral  attributes  of  God 
as  the  one  quality  worthy  to  be  spoken  of  as  a  full 
account  of  the  highest  element  of  the  nature  of  God. 
We  never  read  that  God  is  righteousness  or  truth  or 
holiness.  These  are  only  partial  elements  included  in 
the  all-embracing  attribute  of  love.  To  be  unrighteous 
or  untruthful,  is  to  be  unloving.  Moreover,  not  every 
act  of  God  springs  from  His  righteousness  or  His  truth. 
But  every  act  or  work  of  God  is  an  outflow  of  infinite 
love.  Even  creation  is  such.  God  created  man  in 
order   that   in    him    He    might    have    a   created  object 


Lect.  XXXIIJ  GOD   OUR   FATHER  289 

worthy  of  His  utmost  love.  And  He  created  man 
foreseeing  that  his  creation  would  lead,  in  consequence 
of  his  foreseen  fall,  to  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God. 
Deliberately  to  create  man,  under  such  circumstances, 
is  a  manifestation  of  the  love  of  God  the  most  wonder- 
ful we  can  conceive. 

Love  is  then  the  central  attribute  of  God.  The  other 
moral  attributes  are  but  the  same  attribute  looked  at 
from  various  limited  points  of  view.  The  natural 
attributes  describe  the  infinite  resources  at  the  disposal 
of  infinite  love.  These  resources,  love  needs  for  its  full 
manifestation.  In  God  we  have  infinite  love  prompting 
and  controlling  every  thought,  word,  and  action,  and 
armed  with  infinite  knowledge  and  wisdom  and  power. 

This  gives  us  a  conception  of  God  the  loftiest  and 
the  most  attractive  we  can  conceive.  We  see  in  Him 
an  intelligent  and  self-determining  Being,  with  unlimited 
resources,  the  Source  of  whatever  in  the  universe  is 
good,  calling  into  existence  other  intelligent  and  self- 
determining  beings,  finite  copies  of  Himself ;  and  using 
all  His  resources  to  do  them  good.  His  wisdom  we 
see  in  the  many-sided  purpose  of  salvation  and  in  its 
wonderful  adaptation  to  the  needs  of  mankind ;  His 
supernatural  power  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ  and 
in  the  salvation  of  men  through  Christ.  And  all  this 
knowledge  of  God  we  oue  to  Him  who  claimed  to  be 
the  Only-begotten  Son  of  God.  A  still  earlier  revelation 
of  the  wisdom  and  resources  and  patience  of  God,  we 
see  in  the  material  world  and  in  its  fitness  for  the  higher 
life  of  man  for  which  it  was  created  to  be  the  platform. 


290  GOD   OUR  FATHER  [Part  V 

Another  attribute  given  to  God  in  the  Bible,  and  in 
ancient  literature  peculiar  to  the  Bible,  now  demands 
attention,  viz.  the  HOLINESS  of  God.  It  is  mentioned 
in  the  New  Testament  only  in  John  xvii.  ii,  where 
Christ  accosts  God  as  "  holy  Father ; "  Heb.  xii.  lO, 
"that  we  may  partake  His  holiness  ;"  i  Peter  i.  15,  16, 
"  according  as  He  that  called  you  is  holy,  also  yourselves 
be  holy  in  all  behaviour,  because  it  is  written,  Ye  shall 
be  holy  because  I  am  holy,"  quoted  from  Lev.  xi.  44 ; 
Rev.  iv.  8,  "  holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  God  Almighty," 
repeated  from  Isa.  vi.  3.  Notice  also  i  Peter  iii.  15, 
"  Sanctify  in  your  hearts  Christ  as  Lord." 

In  Lev.  xi.  44,  xix.  2,  xx.  26,  xxi.  8  God  declares 
solemnly  that  He  is  Himself  holy  ;  and  on  the  ground 
of  His  own  holiness  commands  the  people  to  sanctify 
themselves  and  to  be  holy.  In  two  of  these  passages, 
the  holiness  of  God  is  given  as  a  reason  for  abstaining 
from  unclean  food  ;  a  third  has  reference  to  the  holiness 
of  the  priests ;  and  another  is  a  warning  to  honour 
parents,  to  keep  the  Sabbath,  and  to  turn  from  idolatry. 
In  Lev.  x.  3  God  declares,  "  in  those  who  are  near 
to  Me,  I  will  be  sanctified,  and  in  the  presence  of  all 
the  people  I  will  be  glorified  ;"  similarly,  Num.  xx.  12, 
xxvii.  14,  Deut.  xxxii.  51.  The  holiness  of  God  is 
conspicuous  in  the  Book  of  Psalms  :  and  in  the  Book 
of  Isaiah  (chs.  i.  4,  v.  19,  xli.  14,  etc.)  we  have  the 
phrase  "  the  Holy  One  of  Israel." 

It  is  impossible  to  give  to  the  word  holy  in  these 
passages,  where  it  is  used  as  an  attribute  of  God,  any 
meaning    radically    different    from    that    which    it    has 


Lect.  XXXII]  GOD  OUR  FATHER  291 

throughout  the  Old  Testament  when  applied  to  the 
various  holy  objects  of  the  Old  Covenant.  Inevitably 
ancient  Israel  would  think  of  God  as  standing  in  re- 
lation to  the  holy  things  and  men  they  saw  around 
them.  They  would  do  this  the  more  readily  because  all 
the  holy  objects  stood  in  special  relation  to  God.  In 
order  therefore  to  understand  the  holiness  of  God  as 
understood  by  the  writers  of  the  Old  Testament,  we 
ask,  What  do  the  sacred  things  of  the  Mosaic  Covenant 
teach  us  about  God  ?  What  definite  element  in  His 
nature  do  they  reveal  ? 

The  answer  is  not  far  to  seek.  Moses,  Aaron,  and 
Israel,  as  they  encamped  around  the  Sacred  Tent,  had 
thoughts  of  God  very  different  from  their  thoughts 
in  earlier  days.  He  was  now  the  Great  Being  who  had 
claimed  from  Aaron  a  peculiar  and  exclusive  and  life- 
long service.  This  claim  must  have  created  an  era  in 
Aaron's  conception  of  God.  By  predicating  of  Himself 
the  word  holy  already  applied  to  the  objects  claimed  for 
Himself,  God  announced  that  this  claim  was  no  mere 
casual  event  in  sacred  history,  but  was  an  outflow  and 
expression  of  His  own  inmost  nature,  of  a  definite 
element  in  God  Himself.  God  was  now  to  Israel  the 
God  of  the  Altar,  the  Tabernacle,  the  Priesthood,  the 
Sacrifices,  and  the  Sabbath.  The  holiness  of  God  is 
that  element  of  His  nature  of  which  these  are  visible 
exponents. 

In  Lect.  XIV.  we  noticed  that  in  the  New  Testament 
the  word  holy  is  a  frequent  designation  of  the  servants 
of  Christ.     This  places  the  New  Life  in  Christ  in  relation 


292  GOD   OUR   FATHER  [Part  V 

to  the  holy  objects  of  the  Old  Covenant.  By  calling 
themselves  holy,  they  recognised  that  God  had  claimed 
them  to  be  exclusively  His  own,  in  order  that  He  might 
be  henceforth  the  one  aim  of  their  every  purpose  and 
effort.  Consequently,  in  the  New  Testament,  the  holy 
objects  of  the  Mosaic  ritual  are  patterns  in  symbolic 
outline  of  the  Christian  life.  The  servants  of  Christ  are 
a  temple,  a  priesthood  ;  and  their  bodies  a  living 
sacrifice.  And  the  significance  of  this  symbolic  lan- 
guage, and  indeed  the  purpose  for  which  the  symbols 
were  instituted  of  old,  are  expounded  in  many  passages, 
e.g.  2  Cor.  v.  1 5,  in  which  we  are  taught  that  God  designs 
us  to  live  a  life  of  which  He  is  the  constant  aim.  As 
thus  claimed  by  God,  all  Christians  are  holy.  Un- 
faithfulness in  them  is  sacrilege,  robbery  of  God. 

This  teaching,  embodied  in  the  word  holy,  conveys  to 
us  a  new  and  very  solemn  conception  of  God.  We 
think  of  Him  now  as  the  great  Being  who  has  claimed 
us  and  all  we  have  and  are  to  be  exclusively  His  own. 
And,  when  we  read  that  He  who  has  sanctified  us  in 
Christ  is  Himself  holy,  we  learn  that  this  claim  flows 
from  His  inmost  nature,  that  in  virtue  of  His  own  mode 
of  existence  He  can  do  no  other  than  claim  to  be  the 
sole  possessor  of  whatever  He  has  created,  and  the  sole 
aim  of  the  entire  activity  of  all  His  intelligent  creatures. 
Just  so,  creation  is  an  outflow  of  the  inmost  nature  of 
God :  for  He  can  do  no  other  than  create.  That  all 
things  are  both  from  Him  and  for  Him,  is  absolute  and 
eternal  truth. 

In  order  to  reveal  to  men  this  element  of  His  nature, 


Lect.  XXXII]  GOD   OUR  FATHER  293 

God  claimed  for  Himself,  in  the  infancy  of  our  race,  the 
various  holy  objects  of  the  Old  Covenant.  This  claim 
was  embodied  in  the  word  holy.  And  this  word  God 
assumed  as  a  description  of  Himself,  thus  making  the 
sacred  objects  exponents  of  Himself.  In  Christ,  God 
claims  that  all  His  servants  render  to  Him  their  body, 
soul,  and  spirit,  their  possessions  and  powers,  to  be  used 
for  Him  as  the  one  aim  of  their  entire  being.  And, 
noting  that  this  claim  is  no  mere  incident  in  the  divine 
procedure,  but  is  a  revelation  of  God  Himself,  in  a  few 
passages  God  is  Himself  called  holy. 

In  virtue  of  His  holiness,  God  is  the  enemy  of  all  sin. 
For  all  sin  is  disloyalty  to  Him,  and  robs  Him  of  that 
which  He  cannot  but  claim.  And  in  proportion  as  we 
are  holy  shall  we  be  sharers  of  this  divine  hostility 
to  sin.  Thus  the  holiness  of  God  involves,  though  it  is 
much  more  than.  His  purity. 

We  may  therefore  think  of  the  Holiness  of  God  as 
the  essential  element  of  His  nature  which  moved  Him 
to  claim,  under  the  Old  Covenant,  the  sacred  objects  of 
the  Mosaic  ritual  ;  and  which  moves  Him  to  claim  the 
unreserved  devotion  of  all  those  whom  in  Christ  He 
rescues  from  sin.  This  is  a  definite  element  in  the 
nature  of  God,  and  is  suggested  at  once  by  the  definite 
and  conspicuous  attribute  of  Holiness  given  to  Him 
frequently  in  the  Old  Testament  and  occasionally  in  the 
New.  It  is  a  counterpart  to  that  element  in  His  nature 
which  prompted  Him  to  create.  He  is  the  Beginning 
and  the  End. 

The  holiness  of  God  stands,  as  do  all  His  attributes. 


2.J4  GOD   OUR  FATHER  [Part  V 

in  close  relation  to  His  central  attribute  of  love.  God's 
love  prompts  Him  to  claim  our  unreserved  devotion, 
because  such  devotion  is,  as  we  learned  in  Lect.  XV., 
a  condition  of  man's  highest  well-being.  For  God  to 
tolerate  disloyalty  in  His  intelligent  creatures,  would  be 
unkind  to  them.  The  holiness  of  God  is  but  His  love 
looked  at  from  the  point  of  view  of  intelligent 
creatures  capable  of  an  aim  in  life.  Indeed  the 
scantiness  of  reference  to  the  holiness  of  God  in  the 
New  Testament,  in  contrast  to  its  prominence  in 
the  Old,  is  due  probably  to  the  more  limited  attri- 
bute being  overshadowed  by  the  new  and  wonderful 
revelation  in  Christ  of  the  great  central  attribute  of 
love. 

To  sum  up.  Beyond  and  above  the  visible  universe 
with  all  it  contains,  lifeless,  living,  and  rational,  we  see 
clearly  manifested  in  His  works  an  intelligent  and  self- 
determining  Being,  the  righteous  and  all-knowing  and 
all-powerful  Source  and  Ruler  of  whatever  good  exists. 
His  one  purpose  is  the  highest  good  of  whatever  He 
has  made.  This  purpose  He  pursues  with  unerring 
wisdom  in  the  selection  of  ends  and  means.  Since 
intelligent  creatures  need  a  guide  and  aim  in  life  higher 
than  themselves,  He  has  given  Himself  and  His  purpose 
of  blessing  to  be  their  one  aim,  thus  giving  to  their  life 
unity  and  worth,  in  order  that  thus,  by  pursuing  a  goal 
higher  than  themselves  men  may  daily  rise  towards 
God  and  thus  attain  their  highest  well-being.  As 
loving  all  men  and  therefore  treating  them  impartially, 
God  is   righteous.     And,   as    Himself  essential  reality. 


Lect.  XXXII]  GOD   OUR   FATHER  295 

as  speaking  and  acting  ever  in  harmony  with  reality, 
and  as  fulfilling  ever  His  own  promises,  God  is  true 
and  faithful. 

This  fuller  revelation  of  our  Father  in  heaven,  which 
at  once  claims  for  Him  our  reverent  homage  and  our 
love,  and  gives  us  peace,  we  owe  to  the  birth,  works, 
teaching,  death,  and  resurrection  of  the  Son  of  God  ; 
and  to  the  inward  enlightenment  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
given  to  those  who  believe  the  words  of  Christ.  Thus 
through  the  historic  facts  of  the  Incarnate  Son  and  the 
abiding  inward  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  God  our 
Father  has  manifested,  and  ever  reveals,  Himself  to 
man. 


LECTURE   XXXIII 

THE  SON  OF  GOD 

ALREADY  we  have  found  complete  historical  proof 
{Thruugh  ChiHst  to  God,  pp.  215-300)  that  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  claimed  unique  superiority  to  all  men  and 
unique  nearness  to  God.  This  claim  we  found  to  imply- 
that  the  Son  shares  the  infinity  and  the  eternity  of  the 
Father  ;  we  noticed  also  that  it  involves  a  conception 
of  God  unheard-of  till  the  time  of  Christ,  but  since  His 
day  the  deep  conviction  of  almost  all  His  followers,  viz. 
that  in  God  there  is,  not  one  solitary  Person  only,  but 
eternal  companionship  and  love  of  Father  and  Son. 
This  conception  of  God,  we  traced  to  the  lips  of  Him 
who  was  raised  from  the  dead,  to  the  Author  of  the 
great  religious  impulse  which  has  changed  for  good  the 
entire  course  of  human  life  from  apparently  inevitable 
ruin  to  sustained  progress. 

In  this  volume  we  have  traced  the  great  spiritual  and 
moral  benefit  of  this  distinctively  Christian  conception 
of  God.  For,  the  proof  of  God's  love  to  man  afforded 
by  the  death  of  Christ  has  its  root  and  force  in  the 
unique  relation  of  Christ  to  God  as  the  Son  of  God.     It 

was  "  His  Only-begotten  Son  "  whom  "  God  gave,  in  order 

296 


Lect.  XXXIII]  THE  SON  OF  GOD  297 

that  all  who  believe  in  Him  may  not  perish,  but  may 
have  eternal  life."  The  relation  of  the  Sufferer  to  God 
reveals  the  infinite  cost  of  man's  salvation,  a  cost  fore- 
seen and  purposed  from  eternity.  But  for  the  existence 
of  One  infinitely  nearer  to  God  than  those  for  whom 
He  died,  this  wonderful  manifestation  of  love  would  have 
been,  so  far  as  we  can  conceive,  impossible. 

It  would  be  unfair  to  infer  from  the  foregoing  that 
man's  sin  was  needful  for  full  manifestation  of  God's 
love  to  man.  But,  as  matter  of  fact,  in  the  death  of 
Christ  that  love  was  manifested  to  a  degree  otherwise 
inconceivable  by  us  ;  and,  of  this  manifestation  of  God's 
love,  the  eternal  relation  of  the  Son  to  the  Father 
is  an  essential  element.  How  the  love  of  God  would 
have  been  manifested  had  not  man  sinned,  is  beyond 
our  knowledge. 

The  love  of  God  thus  manifested  in  Christ  has  spiritual 
and  moral  power.  Thousands,  in  all  ages,  have  said 
"  we  love,  because  He  first  loved  us."  All  human  love 
to  God  is  but  a  reflection  of  His  love  to  man.  And,  to 
love  God,  is  the  first  and  great  commandment.  The 
love  to  God  and  to  Christ  thus  evoked  becomes  a  main- 
spring of  devotion  to  Christ  and  to  God.  "  The  love  of 
Christ  constrains  us  :  "  and,  when  we  know  that  "  He 
died  in  order  that  they  who  live  may  live  no  longer  for 
themselves  but  for  Him  who  on  their  behalf  died  and 
rose,"  we  cannot  refuse  to  Him  the  devotion  He  claims. 
Moreover,  the  love  of  Christ  for  fallen  man  kindles  in 
His  servants  a  like  compassion.  Their  love  to  Him 
puts  them  under  the  mighty  influence  of  His  example. 


298  THE  SON  OF  GOD  [Part  V 

Moved  by  that  example,  thousands  have  lived  lives  of 
heroic  sacrifice  in  order  to  rescue  those  for  whom  their 
Master  died.  In  other  words,  the  love  of  Christ  mani- 
fested in  His  death  makes  easy  the  devotion  He  claims. 

We  have  seen  in  Lect.  XXXH.  that  love  is  the 
central  and  all-embracing  attribute  of  God.  To  reveal 
the  love  of  God,  is  to  reveal  His  inmost  essence.  God 
moulds  the  moral  nature  of  man  into  a  likeness  of 
Himself  by  revealing  Himself  to  man.  He  does  this, 
in  a  measure  otherwise  impossible,  through  the  self- 
sacrifice  of  the  eternal  Son,  as  manifested  in  His  death 
upon  the  cross  to  save  man. 

We  notice  also  that  every  revelation  of  God,  ana 
indeed  the  entire  activity  of  God,  are  through  the 
agency  of  the  Son.  Through  Him  (John  i.  3,  Col.  i.  16) 
God  made  the  universe,  and  thus  manifested  Himself  as 
Creator.  Through  Him,  and  especially  through  the 
historic  facts  of  His  human  life,  God  has  made  a  still 
fuller  manifestation  of  Himself  as  the  God  of  love. 
Thus  is  the  Son  the  eternal  link  between  God  and 
whatever  is  other  than  God.  A  mere  unipersonal  God 
leaves  an  infinite  gulf  between  Him  and  His  creatures. 
In  the  eternal  Son,  eternal  as  God  is  eternal,  yet 
personally  distinct  from  the  Father,  that  gulf  is  spanned. 
And  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  which  reveals  to  man  the 
eternal  Son,  places  man  and  creation  in  a  new  and 
blessed  relation  to  God. 

Another  link,  not  eternal  but  created,  yet  occupying  a 
unique  relation  to  God,  is  the  human  body  of  the  Incar- 
nate Son.     In  this  sacred  body,  the  eternal  Son  took 


Lect.  XXXIII]  THE  SON  OF  GOD  299 

visible  and  historic  form  before  the  eyes  of  men  ;  and 
the  conception  of  the  Son  took  definite  form  in  the  mind 
of  man.  The  historic  facts  of  the  Son  incarnate  reveal 
His  eternal  nature,  and  are  thus  channels  of  spiritual 
power  in  the  hearts  of  men.  We  are  able,  in  the  historic 
memory  of  our  race,  to  bend  over  the  manger  in  which  He 
slept,  to  listen  to  His  words  of  wisdom,  to  wonder  at  His 
works  of  power  and  mercy,  to  bow  in  silence  before  the 
cross  on  which  He  died,  and  with  rapturous  joy  to  look 
into  Hisempty  grave  and  on  the  face  of  the  Risen  Lord.  In 
these  facts  we  see,  in  concrete  form,  the  obedience  of  the 
Son  to  the  Father,  His  unreserved  devotion  to  the  work 
for  which  the  Father  sent  Him  into  the  world,  and  the  in- 
finite love  of  God  to  man.  The  eternal  Son,  thus  manifested 
in  human  form,  becomes  the  visible  Guide  of  human  life, 
and  the  most  powerful  stimulus  to  walk  in  His  steps. 

So  powerful  was  the  influence  of  these  facts  upon  the 
mind  of  Paul,  and  so  real  and  intimate  was  His  inter- 
course with  Christ,  that  they  became  part  of  His  own 
experience.  Upon  the  cross  of  Christ,  Paul  himself  had 
died,  and  with  Him  had  risen  from  the  dead  and 
ascended  to  the  right  hand  of  God.  No  stronger  proof 
than  this  could  be  given  of  the  wonderful  effect  upon 
the  thought  and  heart  of  Paul  of  the  manifestation  of 
the  Son  of  God  in  the  facts  of  His  human  life. 

Thus  in  the  eternal  Son,  manifested  in  human  flesh 
and  blood,  the  unseen  God  manifested  Himself  to  man. 

The  picture  of  the  Incarnate  Son  given  in  the  four 
Gospels  presents  to  us  in  Him,  not  only  a  human  body 
of  flesh  and  blood,  exposed  as  are  our  bodies  to  hunger. 


300  THE  SON  OF  GOD  [Part  V 

pain,  sickness,  and  death,  but  also  a  finite  human  spirit, 
intelligent  and  moral,  capable  of  thought,  purpose,  joy, 
sorrow,  and  moral  earnestness  and  effort.  This  finite 
intelligence  we  detect  in  the  growth  in  wisdom  of  the 
Sacred  Boy,  and  in  the  ignorance  of  Christ,  even  at  the 
close  of  His  life,  of  the  day  of  His  return.  And  it  is 
implied  in  Heb.  ii.  ly  :  "it  behoved  Him  in  all  things 
to  be  made  like  His  brethren."  Without  such  created 
and  human  spirit,  the  human  nature  of  Christ  would  be 
imperfect ;  as  would  be  His  example  for  us. 

This  human  nature  of  Christ  must  have  been  an  exact 
counterpart,  created  and  finite  and  human,  to  the  divine 
nature  of  the  Son  of  God  ;  but  distinct  from  it  as  the 
creature  is  distinct  from  the  Creator.  In  proportion  as 
the  purpose  of  God  is  accomplished  in  u^will  our  spirit 
become  like  the  human  spirit  of  the  incarnate  Son. 

To  sum  up.  In  the  God-Man  we  see  (i)  an  eterna 
Person  distinct  from,  and  derived  from,  the  Father,  yet 
sharing  with  Him  to  the  full  all  divine  attributes ; 
(2)  a  created  human  spirit,  sinless  and  perfect,  an  exact 
human  counterpart  to  the  eternal  nature  of  the  Son  of 
God  ;  and  (3)  a  created  human  body  under  the  inherited 
doom  of  death.  This  conception  of  Christ  modifies,  as 
we  have  seen,  our  entire  conception  of  God.  And,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  short  life  among  men  of  this  divine- 
human  Person  has  changed  for  good  the  whole  course 
of  human  life  and  history,  and  will  raise  to  the  glory  of 
heaven  and  to  the  likeness  of  the  Son  of  God  all  those 
who  accept  the  message  of  salvation  which  He  brought 
into  the  world. 


LECTURE    XXXIV 

THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD 

ANOTHER  essential  element  of  the  divine  nature, 
revealed  in  some  measure  even  under  the  Old 
Covenant,  but  revealed  with  special  fulness  by  Christ 
and  in  the  New  Life  in  Christ,  is  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD, 
a  divine  counterpart,  operating  in  the  heart  and  inner 
life  of  men,  to  the  eternal  Son  of  God  manifested  in 
human  flesh  and  blood  before  the  eyes  of  men  and  on 
the  open  page  of  history. 

In  Lectures  IX.  and  XVI.  we  have  already  studied 
the  work,  and  in  some  measure  the  nature,  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.  These  studies,  we  will  now  review  and 
complete. 

In  the  Old  Testament,  the  Spirit  of  God  occupies  a 
conspicuous  place.  At  the  creation,  above  the  chaos  of 
the  as  yet  unformed  world,  we  see  Him  brooding. 
Himself  the  Source  and  animating  Principle  of  the 
order  and  life  that  are  to  be.  At  the  erection  of  the 
tabernacle  in  the  wilderness,  the  Spirit  of  God  is  said  to 
have  been  given  to  Bezaleel  and  others,  to  enable  them 
with  divine  wisdom  to  make  a  suitable  temporary 
dwelling  place  for  the  God  of  Israel.     Thus  men  were 

301 


302  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  [Part  V 

endowed  with  a  skill  above  their  own,  and  became  in 
this  sacred  work  the  hand  of  God.  In  Samson  again 
we  see  Him  giving  to  the  arm  of  a  man  superhuman 
power,  and  making  him  to  be  the  arm  of  God.  "  The 
sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel"  declares,  "the  Spirit  of 
Jehovah  spake  by  me,  and  His  word  was  in  my 
tongue."  And  in  the  Old  Testament  and  again  in  the 
New,  we  find  the  prophets  speaking  under  a  special 
influence  of  the  same  Spirit  of  God.  In  all  these  places 
we  find  the  Spirit  of  God  exercising  the  various 
attributes  of  God,  bringing  them  to  bear  on  man  by 
direct  inward  contact  and  thus  making  man  to  be  an 
organ  of  divine  activity. 

That  Christ  would  baptize  with  Spirit,  was  con- 
spicuously announced  by  John.  And  upon  Christ  at 
His  Baptism  descended  the  Spirit  of  God  in  bodily  form 
like  a  dove.  In  various  terms  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
promised  by  Christ  as  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  new 
era  He  was  about  to  inaugurate.  That  era  began  with 
a  wonderful  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  on  the  Day  of 
Pentecost.  Paul  and  other  writers  of  the  New  Testament 
teach  plainly  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  given  to  all  who 
believe  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  to  be  in  them  the  animating 
Principle  of  a  new  life  like  that  of  Christ 

Practically,  throughout  the  Bible,  the  Spirit  of  God 
is  the  Bearer  of  the  presence  and  activity  of  God. 
Where  the  Spirit  is,  there  is  God,  putting  forth  divine 
powers  in  the  heart  of  man  and  making  man  to  be  an 
instrument  of  the  self-manifestation  of  God. 

In    the    New    Testament,    we    find    other    teaching 


Lect.  XXXIV]  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  303 

shedding    further    h"ght    on    the    nature    of   the    Spirit 
of  God. 

On  the  evening  of  His  betrayal,  our  Lord  says,  as 
recorded  in  John  xiv.  16,  "I  will  request  the  Father 
and  He  will  give  you  another  Paraclete  that  He  may 
be  with  you  for  ever,  the  Spirit  of  the  Truth,  which 
the  world  cannot  receive,  because  it  beholds  it  not, 
nor  recognises.  But  ye  recognise  it,  because  it  abides 
with  you  and  is  (or  shall  be)  with  you."  (The  Greek 
pronouns  here,  where  expressed,  are  neuter,  agreeing  with 
the  word  Spirit,  which  is  neuter  :  but  this  grammatical 
agreement  does  not  determine  the  personality  or  im- 
personality of  the  Spirit  The  word  transliterated 
Paraclete  is  masculine).  Similar  language  is  found  in 
V.  26  :  "  But  the  Paraclete,  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  the 
Father  will  send  in  My  name,  He  will  teach  you  all 
things,  and  will  bring  to  your  memory  all  things  which 
I  have  said  to  you."  Similarly,  ch.  xv.  26,  "  When 
the  Paraclete  comes,  whom  I  will  send  to  you  from 
the  Father,  even  the  Spirit  of  the  Truth,  which  goes 
forth  from  the  Father,  He  will  bear  witness  about 
Me."  Also  ch.  xvi.  7,  "  It  is  expedient  for  you  that 
I  go  away :  for  if  I  go  not  away  the  Paraclete  will 
not  come  to  you  ;  but  if  I  go  I  will  send  Him  to  you. 
And,  when  He  has  come,  He  will  convict  the  world 
of  sin,  etc."  And  in  vv.  13,  14:  "When  He  comes,  the 
Spirit  of  the  Truths  He  will  guide  you  into  all  the 
truth.  For  He  will  not  speak  from  Himself,  but  so 
many  things  as  He  hears  He  will  speak  ;  and  He  will 

announce  to  you  the  things  coming.     He   will  glorify 
21 


304  THE  SPIRIT  OF   GOD  [Part  V 

Me ;  because  of  Mine  He  will  take  and  will  announce 
to  you." 

Very  conspicuous  in  these  passages  are  the  repetition 
and  accumulation  of  the  same  titles  given  to  the  Spirit, 
and  the  teaching  that  the  Spirit  whom  Christ  will 
send  will  be  a  more  effective  substitute  for  the  Master 
Himself  who  is  about  to  leave  His  disciples. 

The  Greek  word  translated  paraclete  denotes,  etymo- 
logically,  one  called  to  our  side,  especially  one  called 
as  a  helper.  It  is  occasionally  used  in  classical 
Greek  and  by  Philo ;  always  apparently  in  the  sense 
of  one  who  pleads  before  a  judge.  It  has  an  exact 
equivalent,  both  in  form  and  use,  in  the  Latin  word 
advocatus.  In  this  sense  it  is  used  in  the  one  other 
place  in  which  it  occurs  in  the  New  Testament, 
I  John  ii.  I,  "we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father." 
In  the  passages  before  us,  however,  the  idea  of  pleading 
is  absent ;  an  advocate  is  not  in  any  way  suggested, 
except  so  far  as  the  promised  Paraclete  will  help  us  in 
our  conflict  by  convicting  of  sin  our  adversary  the 
world.  His  chief  work  is  (John  xiv.  26)  to  teach, 
and  to  bring  to  memory  the  words  of  Christ,  and  (ch. 
XV.  26)  to  bear  witness  about  Christ.  This  connection 
of  thought  seems  to  compel  us  to  fall  back  on  the 
more  general  sense  of  helper^  one  called  to  our  side  to 
render  assistance  in  any  need.  But  I  am  not  aware  that 
the  word  is  found  in  this  general  sense  in  classical 
Greek.  On  the  other  hand,  in  Rom.  viii.  26  the  Spirit 
is  represented  as  helping  saints  by  pleading  on  their 
behalf.      Apparently,   the   Spirit   pleads    for   them    by 


Lect.  XXXIV]  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  305 

pleading  in  them,  i.e.  by  stimulating  and  guiding  their 
own  prayers.  In  the  passages  now  before  us  the 
Spirit  is  clearly  represented  as  a  helper :  and  the 
associations  of  the  word  suggest,  though  the  suggestion 
is  not  supported  by  the  context,  that  He  renders  help 
like  that  of  an  advocate  who  represents  a  man  in  a 
court  of  law. 

The  title  Spirit  of  the  Truth  suggests  that  the 
promised  Paraclete  is  the  animating  and  life-giving 
principle  of  the  realities  revealed  by  God  to  man, 
and  especially  of  the  teaching  of  Christ ;  that  the 
Gospel  is  the  organ  used  by  the  Spirit ;  and  that  to 
the  Gospel  the  Spirit  gives  vitality  and  power.  In 
close  harmony  with  this,  we  read  in  Eph.  vi.  17  of 
"  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God." 

In  John  xiv.  18,  Christ  speaks  of  the  coming  of  the 
Paraclete  as  His  own  return  to  His  bereaved  disciples: 
"  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans  ;  I  will  come  to  you." 
Similarly,  in  Rom.  viii.  9  Paul  speaks  of  the  **  Spirit  of 
Christ "  as  the  actual  presence  of  Christ  in  His  people. 
This  implies  that,  just  as,  in  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
the  Spirit  of  God  is  a  Bearer  of  the  actual  presence  of 
God  in  the  hearts  of  men,  so  the  Spirit  of  God  is  also 
the  actual  presence  of  Christ  in  the  hearts  of  His 
disciples.  This  is  confirmed  by  other  passages  which 
speak  of  Christ  as  dwelling  in  His  people  :  e.g.  Gal. 
ii.  20,  "Christ  lives  in  me;"  Eph.  iii.  17,  "that  Christ 
may  dwell  in  your  hearts." 

Already  we  have  seen  that  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was 
manifested  to  men  an  eternal  and  infinite  Person  distinct 


3o6  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  [Part  V 

from,  and  subordinate  to,  the  Father,  the  divine  agent  of 
whatever  the  Father  does  outwardly  and  visibly.  We 
have  now  heard  this  Second  divine  Person,  speaking  as 
a  man  among  men  yet  about  to  leave  His  followers, 
promising  to  them  another  Helper  to  abide  with  them 
for  ever.  This  promise  suggests  at  once  that  this  other 
Helper  is  also  a  distinct  Person  ;  and  that  consequently 
in  the  Godhead  are,  not  two,  but  three,  divine  Persons. 

This  suggestion  receives  important  confirmation  in 
John  xvi.  13,  14.  In  conspicuous  apposition  to  the 
neuter  form  to  Uvevfia  tt)?  aKrjOeia^,  the  masculine  pro- 
noun iK€Lvo<;,  which  is  repeated  in  v.  14  without  any 
masculine  term  requiring  it,  arrests  our  attention.  Still 
more  important  is  the  assertion  "  He  will  not  speak  from 
Himself,  but  so  many  things  as  He  shall  hear  shall  He 
speak."  The  Spirit  is  here  represented  as  listening  to 
the  voice  of  Another  and  as  speaking  only  what  from 
that  Other  He  hears.  This  attention  to  the  words  of 
another  implies  in  the  Spirit  a  Person  distinct  from  Him 
to  whom  He  listens.  For,  without  two  Persons  there 
can  be  no  listening  of  one  to  another.  And  that  the 
Spirit  speaks  only  what  He  hears,  implies  subordination 
to  Him  whose  words  He  re-echoes.  This  verse  therefore 
implies  a  Person  distinct  from  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
That  He  is  elsewhere  called  frequently  the  Spirit  of 
God,  and  that  His  presence  will  be  better  for  the 
disciples  than  the  bodily  presence  of  Christ,  imply 
clearly  that  this  distinct   Person   is  also  divine. 

The  only  explanation  of  the  passages  before  us  is  that 
in  the  Godhead  are,  as  Persons  distinct  from  the  Father, 


Lect.  XXXIV]  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  307 

not  only  an  eternal  Son  but  an  eternal  Spirit.  Other- 
wise these  serious  words  of  Christ  would  be  practically 
meaningless. 

Had  we  only  the  Old  Testament  we  might  suppose 
that  the  term  Spirit  of  God  is  only  a  circumlocution 
for  God  operating  upon  men  from  within  in  a  manner 
corresponding  to,  though  infinitely  higher  than,  that  in 
which  the  human  spirit  animates  human  flesh.  But  in 
these  words  of  Christ  we  have  much  more  than  a  cir- 
cumlocution for  God.  For  we  cannot  conceive  the 
Father  listening  to  another  and  speaking  only  what  He 
hears.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  therefore  a  Person  distinct 
from,  and  subordinate  to,  the  Father.  And,  as  another 
Helper,  He  is  conspicuously  distinct  from  the  Son.  Yet 
He  stands  in  closest  relation  to  both  Father  and  Son. 
The  presence  of  the  Spirit  is  the  presence  of  the  Father  : 
and,  armed  with  the  powers  of  the  Father,  He  works  out 
in  men  the  Father's  will.  His  presence  in  men  is  also 
the  presence  of  the  Son.  Thus  in  the  one  Spirit  dwell- 
ing in  the  hearts  ot  the  thousands  of  the  servants  of 
Christ  are  present  in  them  three  divine  Persons. 

The  similar  and  subordinate  relation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  the  Father  and  the  Son  finds  expression  in  the 
teaching  that  the  Spirit  is  given  and  sent  by  the  Father 
and  by  the  Son.  Compare  John  xiv.  15,  "the  Father 
will  give  you  another  Helper,"  and  v.  26,  "the  Holy 
Spirit,  which  the  Father  will  send  in  My  name  ;  "  with 
ch.  XV.  26,  "  whom  I  will  send  to  you  from  the  Father." 
In  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  it  finds  expression  in  the 
promiscuous  and  equivalent  use  of  the    term  Spirit  of 


jo8  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  [Part  V 

God  and  the  terms  Sp'r/t  of  Christ,  Spirit  of  His  Son. 
As  an  example  I  may  quote  Rom.  viii.  9,  where  the 
"  Spirit  of  God "  and  the  "  Spirit  of  Christ "  are 
evidently  equivalent.  Compare  also  "the  Spirit  of 
God"  in  Rom.  viii.  14  with  "the  Spirit  of  His  Son" 
in  the  same  connection  in  Gal.  iv.  6. 

That  the  Spirit  is  a  Person  distinct  from  the  Father, 
IS  suggested  or  implied  in  Rom.  viii.  26 :  "  the  Spirit 
itself  makes  intercession  for  us  with  unspeakable 
groanings.  But  He  that  searches  the  hearts  knows 
what  is  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  because  according  to  the 
will  of  God  He  (or  It)  makes  intercession  on  behalf  of 
saints."  Intercession  can  be  real  only  between  two  or 
more  persons.  That  the  Spirit  pleads  for  the  people  of 
God,  implies  that  the  Spirit  is  a  Person  distinct  from 
the  Father.  In  i  Cor.  xii.  4-6  we  have  the  Spirit  of 
God  conspicuously  co-ordinated  with  the  Son  and  the 
Father :  "  varieties  of  gifts  there  are,  but  the  same 
Spirit ;  and  varieties  of  ministries,  but  the  same  Lord  ; 
and  varieties  of  effects  wrought  out,  but  the  same  God 
who  works  all  things  in  all."  Indisputably  the  Father 
and  the  Son  are  distinct  Persons.  And  it  is  much  more 
congruous  to  have  co-ordinated  with  them  a  third  divine 
Person  than  some  circumlocution  for,  or  attribute  of,  the 
Father.  This  is  further  supported  by  z^.  1 1  :  "  all  these 
things  works  the  one  and  the  same  Spirit,  dividing  to 
each  one  individually  as  He  wishes." 

In  a  totally  different  document,  we  find  in  Matt, 
xxviii.  19  a  third  name  associated  with  the  Father  and 
the  Son :  "  baptising  them  for  the  name  of  the  Father 


Lect.  XXXIV]  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  309 

and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  This  colloca- 
tion and  the  passages  quoted  above  leave  no  room 
for  doubt  that  we  have  here  three  divine  Persons. 

The  precise  relation  of  the  Spirit  to  the  Father  is 
veiled  in  mystery.  But  the  analogy  of  the  Son  suggests 
irresistibly  that  the  nature  of  the  Spirit,  like  that  of  the 
Son,  is  an  outflow  of  the  nature  of  the  Father.  We 
notice  however  that  the  title  Son  and  the  filial  relation 
involved  therein  are  strictly  reserved  for  the  Second 
Person,  "  the  Only-begotten  Son."  This  implies  that  the 
mode  of  derivation  of  the  Spirit  from  the  Father  differs 
in  kind  from  that  of  the  Son.  In  what  the  difference 
consists,  we  cannot  comprehend. 

The  only  passage  bearing  on  this  subject  is  John  xv.  26: 
"  who  goes  forth  from  the  presence  of  the  Father." 
This  may  refer  either  to  the  essential  derivation  of  the 
Spirit  from  the  Father  or  to  the  historic  going  forth  of 
the  Spirit  just  promised  :  "  whom  I  will  send  to  you 
from  the  presence  of  the  Father."  In  the  one  case,  the 
promise  of  Christ  is  placed  in  relation  to  an  abiding 
habit  of  the  Spirit  ;  in  the  other  case,  to  His  essential 
relation  to  the  Father.  But,  since  we  cannot  doubt  that 
every  abiding  action  of  the  Spirit  is  an  outflow  of  His 
essence,  this  uncertainty  does  not  lessen  the  value  of 
this  passage  as  illustrating  the  relation  of  the  Spirit  to 
the  Father.  We  may  therefore  infer  with  perfect 
confidence  that,  like  the  Son,  the  Spirit  of  God  also  is 
an  eternal  Stream  from  the  eternal  Fountain,  a  Stream 
going  forth,  in  virtue  of  the  mode  of  His  existence,  from 
God  into  the  hearts  of  men. 


3IO  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  [Part  V 

In  my  earlier  volume,  Lect.  XXXII.,  I  proved  that 
an  overwhelming  majority  of  the  followers  of  Christ  in 
all  ages  and  nations  have  bowed  before  Christ  as  the 
Eternal  Son  of  God ;  and  I  quoted  in  proof  of  this 
remarkable  agreement  a  creed  accepted  formally  or 
virtually  by  nearly  all  Christians.  With  equal  unanimity 
they  have  received  the  Spirit  of  God  as  a  Person  distinct 
from  the  Father  and  Son  yet  sharing  with  them  to  the 
full  all  divine  attributes.  In  the  creed  put  forth  by  the 
Council  at  Nicaea  in  A.D.  325,  the  only  reference  to 
the  Spirit  is,  "  and  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Spirit."  This 
article  was  expanded  at  the  Second  General  Council 
held  at  Constantinople  in  A.D.  381,  in  the  creed  now 
commonly  known  as  the  Nicene,  which  is  accepted  and 
recited  in  all  the  older  Churches,  into  the  following 
form :  "  and  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Lord  and  the 
Life-Giver,  (to  Kvpiov  Kal  to  ^mottolov,)  who  goes  forth 
from  the  Father,  who  with  Father  and  Son  is  together 
worshipped  and  together  glorified,  who  spoke  through 
the  prophets."  The  conspicuous  words,  togetJier-wor- 
shipped  and  together-glorified  recognise  the  Spirit  as 
occupying  a  place  beside  the  Father  and  Son  as  a 
distinct  object  of  worship.  And  this  has  been  and  is 
the  faith  of  practically  all  who  bow  before  Christ  as 
divine.  It  is  almost  universally  admitted  that  if  there 
are  two,  there  are  three,  divine  Persons. 

In  the  West,  apparently  first  in  Spain,  to  the  words 
"  who  goes  forth  from  the  Father,"  was  added  "  and  from 
the  Son,"  in  l^dAXn  filioque.  This  addition  is  a  legitimate 
inference  from   Jon  xv.   26,   "  whom   I    will  send    from 


Lect.  XXXIV]  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  311 

the  Father."  But  it  is  no  part  of  the  original  creed. 
The  added  word  became  a  matter  of  contention  between 
the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  personahty  of  the  Spirit 
is  very  much  less  conspicuous  in  the  New  Testament 
than  is  that  of  the  Father  and  the  Son.  It  is  somewhat 
obscured  by  the  neuter  form  of  the  Greek  word  for 
Spirit,  the  usual  title  of  this  mysterious  Third  among 
the  divine  Three.  In  grammatical  agreement  with  this 
neuter  substantive,  neuter  pronouns  are  always  used, 
except  in  the  remarkable  case  already  noted  in 
John  xvi.  13,  14.  The  English  revisers  have,  for 
theological  reasons,  altered  in  Rom.  viii.  16  "the  Spirit 
itself"  into  "the  Spirit  himself."  But  this  change  has 
no  ground  in  the  original  text.  This  neuter  form, 
though  it  somewhat  obscures,  is  quite  consistent  with,  the 
personality  of  the  Spirit.  Moreover,  it  throws  into  relief 
the  masculine  forms  used  in  John  xvi.  13,  14  in  close 
connection  with  language  implying  clearly  the  distinct 
personality  of  the  Spirit. 

Perhaps  there  is  spiritual  significance  in  this  com- 
parative concealment  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  We  notice 
that  in  the  pages  of  Holy  Scripture,  written  under  His 
special  influence,  the  Holy  Spirit  ever  hides  His  own 
personality  in  order  that  every  eye  may  be  fixed  upon 
the  Son.  To  this  comparative  self-effacement,  the  real 
personality  of  the  Spirit  gives  meaning.  For  in  it  He 
becomes  our  Pattern  and  Companion,  as  none  but  a 
person  can  be.  In  proportion  as  we  are  led  by  Him 
shall  we  hide  our  personality  behind  the  glory  of  the 


312  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  [Part  V 

Son  of  God.  If  the  Spirit  were  but  an  impersonal 
influence  going  forth  from  the  Father  and  the  Son  and 
leading  men  back  to  bow  to  the  Son  and  the  Father, 
there  would  be  no  moral  worth  in  this  self-abnegation. 
It  would  be,  in  a  sense,  only  mechanical.  But  when  we 
know  that  the  Spirit  is  Himself  a  Person,  as  distinct 
from  the  Father  and  the  Son  as  we  are,  yet  infinitely 
greater  than  all  human  personality,  His  action  becomes 
our  pattern.  And  in  our  self-sacrifice  and  in  all  that  we 
do,  and  in  our  joys  and  sorrows,  He  becomes,  not  only 
our  Guide  but  our  divine  Companion.  This  example  of 
self-effacement,  the  Son  cannot  set.  For  His  work 
requires  that  He  attract  every  eye  to  Himself  as  an 
object  of  their  worship  and  trust  and  love.  Thus,  in  the 
Godhead,  in  the  love  and  beneficence  of  the  Father,  in 
the  obedience  and  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  of  the  Son, 
and  in  the  unobtrusive  activity  of  the  Spirit,  we  have  a 
perfect  pattern  for  every  human  excellence.  This  com- 
plete pattern,  we  could  not  have  were  not  the  Spirit  of 
God  a  Person  distinct  from  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

The  word  Spirit  is  frequently  used,  e.g.  Gal.  v.  i6,  vi.  8, 
Rom.  viii.  26,  as  a  sufficiently  distinctive  title  of  this 
Third  divine  Person,  even  as  compared  with  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  who  are  also  essentially  Spirit.  This  title 
is  specially  appropriate  for  that  Person  of  the  Godhead 
who  comes  into  actual  contact  with  our  spirit  as  the 
immediate  inward  Source  of  our  higher  life,  and  the 
moving  Principle  of  our  thoughts,  words,  acts.  The 
attribute  holy,  which  also  belongs  in  the  highest  sense  to 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  is  given  specially  to  the  Spirit ; 


Lect.  XXXIV]  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD  3^3 

because  God  is  the  one  aim  of  the  influence  He  con- 
stantly exerts.  Every  moment  He  comes  forth  from 
the  Father  that  He  may  lead  us  back  to  the  Father. 
All  realised  human  holiness  is  the  mind  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  breathed  into  those  to  whom  He  is  the  soul  of 
their  soul  and  the  life  of  their  life.  Hence  the  frequent 
term  Holy  Spirit. 

God's  work  in  man  preparatory  to  justification  (see 
Lect.  VI.)  is  never  in  the  Bible  expressly  attributed 
to  the  Holy  Spirit.  Yet,  as  the  divine  Agent  of  all  that 
God  works  in  man,  we  cannot  doubt  that  through  Him 
God  leads  men,  as  we  read  in  Rom.  ii.  4,  John  vi.  44,  65, 
to  repentance  and  to  Christ.  The  absence  of  any 
mention  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Author  of  repentance 
may  perhaps  be  explained  as  a  reservation  of  the  word 
Spirit  for  this  Third  Person  w^hen  acting  as  spirit,  i.e. 
as  a  living  influence  moving  and  animating  men  from 
within.  On  those  not  yet  justified  He  may  be  said 
to  act  only  from  without.  The  Hand  of  God  is  upon 
them  :  but  the  life-giving  Breath  of  God  is  not  yet 
within  them. 


LECTURE   XXXV 

THE  ETERNAL    THREE  IN  ONE. 

ALREADY  {Through  Christ  to  God,  Lect.  V.)  we 
have  seen  the  conspicuous  and  unique  superiority 
of  the  Christian  nations  to  all  others  ;  that  to  them,  in  this 
age  of  wonderful  progress,  is  limited  all  sustained  progress, 
outside  them  being  only  stagnation  and  decay  ;  and  that 
this  monopoly  of  sustained  progress  must  be  attributed 
to  their  Christianity,  as  the  only  element  common  to  the 
Christian  nations.  We  have  also  found,  in  human 
history  and  literature,  abundant  and  decisive  evidence 
that  this  superiority  is  due  to  a  unique  spiritual  impulse 
given  to  human  thought  and  life  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
The  unique  and  wonderful  effects  of  this  impulse, 
surpassing  far  every  other  influence  exerted  by  man 
upon  man,  reveal  its  superhuman  source. 

We  have  found  decisive  documentary  evidence  that 
the  Author  of  this  world-transforming  influence  spoke 
frequently  and  conspicuously  about  a  Father  in 
heaven,  the  intelligent  and  righteous  and  loving  Creator 
and  Ruler  of  man  and  of  the  universe.  This  clear 
teaching  about  an  intelligent  and  righteous  Creator 
and    Ruler,    absolutely    distinct    from    and    superior   to 


Lect.  XXXV]      THE  ETERNAL    THREE  IN  ONE  315 

the  world  created  and  ruled  by  Him,  is  in  complete 
harmony  with  the  unanimous  and  emphatic  teaching 
of  the  various  writers  of  the  Old  Testament :  but  it 
stands  in  conspicuous  contrast  to  the  teaching  of  all 
other  ancient  popular  religions. 

We  also  found  {Through  Christ  to  God,  Lect.  XXXIII.) 
abundant  evidence  that,  while  accepting  and  enforcing 
the  strict  monotheism  of  His  nation,  Jesus  gave  to  it  a 
modification  unheard  of  till  His  day,  except  in  faintest 
outline  in  the  Old  Testament.  In  contrast  to  the  Jews 
who  in  all  ages  have  held  fast  the  oneness  of  God,  and 
to  the  followers  of  Mohammed  who,  without  claiming 
any  historical  manifestations  of  God  or  cherishing  any 
bright  hopes  of  future  deliverance,  yet  hold  fast  the 
doctrine  of  one  God  and  of  retribution  beyond  the  grave, 
the  great  mass  of  the  followers  of  Christ  have  in  all  ages 
asserted  that  in  the  eternal  and  intelligent  and  righteous 
Source  and  Ruler  of  the  universe  are  three  divine 
Persons.  And  this  remarkable  modification  of  the 
monotheism  of  the  Old  Testament,  we  traced  by 
decisive  documentary  evidence  to  the  Author  of  the 
great  moral  and  religious  impulse  which  has  changed 
for  good  the  entire  course  of  human  life. 

This  great  change  in  man's  conception  of  God,  Christ 
brought  about,  not  directly  by  abstract  teaching  about 
the  nature  of  God,  but  by  claiming  for  Himself  a  unique 
relation  to  God  involving  His  own  pre-existence  with 
God  in  eternity  and  His  participation  in  the  infinity  of 
God.  We  found  a  man  among  men  speaking  of  Him- 
self as  the  Only-begotten  Son  of  God,  as  the  coming 


3i6  THE  ETERNAL  [Part  V 

Judge  of  the  world,  and  accepted  by  the  two  most 
conspicuous  writers  of  the  New  Testament  as  the 
Creator  of  the  universe;  yet  ever  distinguishing  Himself 
from  God  as  a  son  is  distinguished  from  his  father,  and 
as  loved  by  the  Father  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  We  have  just  found  in  the  New  Testament 
other  teaching,  not  abundant  or  conspicuous,  but,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  decisive,  implying  a  third  element  in  the 
nature  of  God,  a  Person  distinct  from  the  Father  and 
the  Son.  And  this  teaching,  thus  understood,  has 
been  accepted  in  all  ages  by  nearly  all  who  have  held 
the  divinity  of  Christ. 

We  have  also  seen  {Through  Christ  to  God,  Lect. 
XXIX.)  that  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament 
implies  that  the  entire  life  and  being  of  the  Son  are 
derived  from,  and  devoted  to,  the  Father,  an  infinite 
Stream  flowing  back  in  full  volume  to  its  infinite  Source. 
A  similar  derivation  and  subordination,  analogy  compels 
us  to  attribute  to  the  Spirit.  Indeed  the  teaching 
examined  in  our  last  lecture  seems  to  imply  that  the 
Spirit  is  subordinate  both  to  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
In  this  essential  subordination  of  the  Son  and  Spirit  to 
the  Father  lies  the  essential  unity  of  the  Godhead. 

That  this  somewhat  complicated  conception  of  three 
divine  Persons  in  one  God,  a  conception  held  fast  in 
all  ages  by  nearly  all  the  followers  of  Christ,  is  due  to 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  is  an  assured  result  of  our  theological 
research. 

In  the  above  outline,  I  have  used  the  \.QYn\s  person  and 
personal.     These  terms,  as  commonly  understood,  con- 


Lect.  XXXV]  THREE  IN  ONE  317 


vey  the  ideas  of  intelligence  and  moral  character,  this 
last  involving  self-determination  ;  and  all  that  dis- 
tinguishes men  from  animals.  To  speak  of  God  as  a 
Person,  is  to  say  that  that  which  distinguishes  men  from 
animals  has  a  higher  counterpart  in  Him.  To  speak  of 
three  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  and  of  the  Son  and 
Spirit  as  personally  distinct  from  the  Father,  is  to  say 
that  between  Them  is  a  distinction  analogous  to,  and 
therefore  infinitely  higher  than,  that  which  distinguishes 
man  from  man.  This  analogy  between  the  relation  of 
the  Father  to  the  Son  and  that  of  man  to  man  is 
asserted  by  Christ  in  John  xvii.  22,  "in  order  that  they 
may  be  one,  as  We  are  One."  And  it  justifies  the  use 
of  the  term  personal  distinction  as  applied  to  the  Father 
and  Son.  At  the  same  time,  all  use  of  human  relation- 
ships to  describe  the  nature  of  God,  even  of  those  used 
in  the  New  Testament,  is  liable,  owing  to  the  infinite 
difference  between  God  and  man,  to  serious  misunder- 
standing. Yet,  only  by  using  these  analogies  and  terms 
founded  upon  them,  can  man  apprehend,  and  have 
intelligent  intercourse  with,  God.  We  know  Him  only 
by  those  elements  in  man  which  are  akin  to  God.  We 
therefore  need  not  scruple  to  accept  the  historical 
phraseology  of  the  Church  and  to  speak  of  One  God  in 
Three  Persons,  and  of  the  divine  and  human  natures  in 
the  One  Person  of  the  God-Man. 

In  Lect.  XXX n.  we  saw  that  the  New  Testament 
gives  unique  and  conspicuous  prominence  to  an  attri- 
bute of  God  about  which  not  much  is  said  in  the  Old 
-Testament,  viz.  the  love  of  God.     And  we  saw  that  this 


3i8  THE  ETERNAL  [Part  V 

fuller  manifestation  of  the  nature  of  God  took  place  in 
the  historic  fact  of  the  death  of  Christ,  viewed  in  the 
light  of  the  Gospel.  Moreover,  both  in  the  Epistles  of 
Paul  and  in  the  writings  attributed  to  the  Apostle  John 
the  proof  of  the  love  of  God  involved  in  the  death  of 
Christ  is  traced  to  the  essential  relation  of  Christ  to  God. 
So  Rom.  V.  8,  "  God  gives  proof  of  His  own  love  toward 
us  that,  while  we  were  still  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us  ; 
compared  with  v.  lo,  "  reconciled  to  God  through  the 
death  of  His  Son,"  and  with  ch.  viii.  32,  "  He  spared  not 
His  own  Son,  and  for  us  all  gave  Him  up."  Similarly 
John  iii.  16,  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His 
Only-begotten  Son  in  order  that  every  one  that  believes 
in  Him  may  not  perish  but  may  have  eternal  life  ; "  and 
I  John  iv.  9,  10,  "  In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God 
in  our  case;  that  His  Only-begotten  Son  God  sent  into 
the  world,  in  order  that  we  may  live  through  Him.  In 
this  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  Himself  loved 
us  and  sent  His  Son  to  be  a  propitiation  for  our  sins." 
In  this  manifestation  of  the  love  of  God,  an  essential 
element  is  the  unique  relation  of  Christ  to  God,  a  relation 
infinitely  closer  than  any  relation  possible  between  a 
creature  and  his  Creator.  This  eternal  relation  within 
the  Godhead  reveals  the  infinite  cost  of  man's  salva- 
tion, and  thus  reveals  the  greatness  of  the  love  which 
prompted  a  redemption  so  costly.  Thus  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  implied  in  claims 
proved  to  have  been  made  by  Christ,  affords  a  proof  of 
the  love  of  God  impossible  in  a  unipersonal  God.  And 
this  is  one  chief  practical  significance  of  that  doctrine. 


Lect.  XXXV]  THREE  IN  ONE  319 

It  may  be  objected  that  the  above  argument  implies 
that  man's  sin  was  needful  for  his  full  development, 
on  the  ground  that  apart  from  his  sin  the  death  of 
Christ  would  have  been  needless,  and  therefore  the 
wonderful  manifestation  of  the  love  of  God  therein 
given  would  not  have  been  made,  or,  in  other  words, 
that  we  owe  to  man's  sin  this  surpassing  manifestation 
of  God.  Doubtless,  for  the  full  manifestation  of  God 
to  man  it  was  needful  that  God  should  enter  into 
closest  relation  to  man  :  and  perhaps  for  this  end  it 
was  needful  that  a  divine  Person  should  assume  human 
form  in  order  that  human  life  and  thought  might  be 
permeated  with  life  divine.  In  consequence  of  man's 
sin,  this  manifestation  of  God  in  human  form  brought 
infinite  pain  to  the  incarnate  Son.  Had  not  man 
sinned,  this  manifestation  would  have  involved  neither 
death  nor  suffering.  In  any  case,  the  actual  and 
historic  revelation  of  God  to  man  in  Christ  would 
have  been  impossible  had  there  been  no  divine  Person 
other  than  the  Father.  How,  in  the  absence  of  any 
need  for  the  expiatory  death  of  Christ  on  the  cross, 
God  could  have  given  an  equal  proof  of  His  love  to 
man,  passes  human  thought.  But  we  cannot  doubt 
that  a  Creator  whose  nature  is  infinite  love  was  able 
to  reveal  that  love  to  His  creatures  in  such  measure 
as  they  can  bear  ;  and  that  of  such  revelation  the 
chief  Agent  can  be  no  other  than  the  eternal  Word. 

Already  in  Lect.    XVIII.   we   have  seen   that  Christ 

is  the  supreme  example  of  human  life.     This  example 

receives  its  chief  force  and  value  from  the  teaching  ol 
22 


320  THE  ETERNAL  [Part  V 

Christ  about  His  own  dignity  and  His  relation  to  God. 
Even  apart  from  His  divine  dignity,  we  are  greatly 
moved  by  His  unchanging  and  self-sacrificing  devotion 
to  the  work  of  salvation  committed  to  Him  by  God. 
Even  as  a  man,  He  claims  our  profoundest  respect. 
But  when  we  know  that  He  who  thus  walked  humbly 
along  a  path  marked  out  for  Him  by  God  from  the 
manger  to  the  cross,  never  for  a  moment  roused  to 
resentment  by  the  persistent  malice  and  plots  of  His 
enemies,  but  speaking  only  to  comfort  and  bless,  is 
Himself  the  Creator  and  Judge  even  of  His  enemies, 
our  respect  is  raised  to  loftiest  adoration.  In  the 
presence  of  such  grandeur,  veiled  in  guise  so  lowly, 
yet  in  its  lowliest  guise  conscious  of  its  dignity,  what- 
ever in  us  is  best  bows  with  silent  awe.  Henceforth 
any  sacrifice  made  by  man  sinks  into  insignificance 
beside  the  stupendous  self-devotion  of  the  eternal 
Son.  In  Him  we  see  an  example  before  which  all 
others  pale.  And  this  supreme  and  all-potent  example 
we  owe  to  the  teaching  of  Christ  and  His  Apostles 
about  the  dignity  of  the  Son  of  God,  teaching  involving 
as  we  have  seen,  the  doctrine  of  One  God  in  Three 
Persons  which  found  expression  in  the  Nicene  Creed. 

In  Lect.  XVI.  we  saw  that  this  manifestation  of 
God  in  Christ  and  the  example  of  Christ's  obedience 
to  God  and  devotion  to  the  good  of  man  are  brought 
to  bear  on  us  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
who  takes  of  the  things  of  Christ  and  shows  them 
to  us  by  opening  our  hearts  to  understand  the  signi- 
ficance of  the  historic  facts  of  His  life  and  death  and 


Lect.  XXXV]  THREE  IN  ONE  321 

resurrection.  Thus  in  the  spiritual  life  of  men  are 
active  all  Three  Persons  of  the  Godhead.  The  Father 
is  the  ultimate  Source  of  all  good.  From  Him  spring 
the  universe  and  man :  and  the  Kingdom  of  God, 
built  up  out  of  saved  humanity,  is  an  accomplishment 
of  His  purpose.  "  To  us  there  is  one  God,  the  Father, 
from  whom  are  all  things :  "  I  Cor.  viii.  6.  Moreover, 
whatever  God  does  outwardly  and  visibly,  before  the 
eyes  of  His  creatures,  within  historic  times  or  before 
history  began,  He  does  through  the  agency  of  the 
eternal  Son,  the  divine  Person  whose  special  function 
is  to  give  to  the  thought  of  God  utterance  and 
realisation.  "  To  us  there  is  One  Lord,  Jesus  Christ, 
through  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  through  Him." 
Whatever  God  does  inwardly  in  the  heart  of  man 
He  does  through  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who 
opens  our  eyes  to  behold  the  work  of  the  Son  and 
thus  reveals  to  us  that  which  has  been  manifested  in 
the  Son.  "  No  one  can  say,  Jesus  is  Lord  except  in  the 
Holy  Spirit  :  "  i  Cor.  xii.  3. 

It  is  now  evident  that,  just  as  God  created  the  world 
through  the  agency  of  the  Son  and  the  Spirit,  so 
through  them  He  now  comes  near  and  reveals  Himself 
to  His  intelligent  creatures.  Thus  within  the  Godhead 
are  avenues  of  God's  self-manifestation,  and  of  approach 
of  God  to  man  and  of  man  to  God.  But  between  a 
unipersonal  God  and  His  creatures  would  be  an  infinite 
gulf  across  which  they  could  scarcely  hear  His  voice  or 
see  His  face.  He  would  be  little  more  than  a  distant 
abstraction.      And   such   is    God   to-day  to   most   who 


322  THE  ETERNAL   THREE  IN  ONE  [Part  V 

deny  the  divinity  of  Christ.  They  are  further  from 
God  than  are  the  Psalmists  of  the  Old  Testament.  For 
Israel's  intercourse  with  God  was  greatly  strengthened 
by  hopes  of  a  fuller  revelation  to  come.  But  to 
thousands  of  busy  men  and  women  to-day  the  vision 
of  the  eternal  Son  incarnate  for  their  salvation,  and 
the  felt  presence  in  their  hearts  of  a  divine  Helper 
personally  distinct  from  the  Father  into  whose  presence 
He  leads  them  and  from  the  Son  whose  face  He 
reveals  to  them,  afford  an  intercourse  with  God  to 
them  otherwise  impossible  and  inconceivable. 

That  this  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  consistent  with 
the  unity  of  God,  is  verified  by  the  experience  of  the 
servants  of  Christ.  In  their  spiritual  life  is  no  rivalry 
of  different  deities.  To  them,  the  Father  and  the 
Son  and  the  Spirit,  each  reigning  alone  in  His  own 
sphere  yet  in  perfect  harmony,  the  function  of  Each 
Person  supplementing  that  of  the  Others,  are,  but  one 
God.  And  in  the  essential  oneness  of  these  three  divine 
Persons,  myriads  of  worshippers  find,  and  will  find  in 
still  higher  measure,  their  own  unity. 


LECTURE   XXXVI 

ANGELS,   GOOD  AND  BAD 

IN  all  ages  and  races,  the  thought  of  man  has  peopled 
the  immense  interval  between  the  greatest  of  sinful 
men  and  the  Eternal  First  Cause  with  beings  greater 
than  man  yet  less  than  God.  This  deeply-rooted  and 
often  distorted  conception,  both  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments accept  and  confirm  and  purify. 

The  Hebrew  word  rendered  angel  is  used  in  i  Sam. 
xix.  II,  14,  15,  16,  20,  21,  and  elsewhere  frequently  for 
persons  sent  with  a  message  or  to  do  special  work.  In 
the  Greek  version  it  is  almost  always  rendered  by  the 
Greek  original  of  our  word  angel,  which  denotes  in 
classic  Greek  one  who  brings  a  message  or  news,  a  sense 
somewhat  narrower  than  that  of  its  Hebrew  equivalent. 
It  is  frequently  found  in  the  New  Testament  bearing 
the  full  significance  of  the  Hebrew  word.  In  Matt.  xi.  10, 
Mark  i.  2,  Luke  vii.  27,  it  is  used  for  John  the  Baptist, 
as  the  herald  sent  to  prepare  the  way  for  Christ. 
In  Luke  vii.  24,  it  denotes  messengers  sent  by  John  to 
question  Christ ;  and,  in  ch.  ix.  52,  disciples  sent  by 
Christ  to  prepare  for  His  arrival  in  a  Samaritan  village. 
Elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament  and  frequently  in  the 

323 


324  ANGELS  [Part  V 

Old,  the  word  denotes  superhuman  messengers  sent  by 
God  to  do  His  work  on  earth. 

In  Gen.  xvi.  7-1 1,  2  Sam.  xxiv.  16,  17  and  frequently 
in  the  Old  Testament,  and  in  the  Synoptist  Gospels  and 
in  the  Book  of  Acts,  we  find  the  term  angelcf  JeJwvaJi, 
of  Gody  of  the  Lord,  for  the  appearance  of  a  superhuman 
person  sent  by  God  to  make  announcement  to  men,  to 
save,  or  to  punish.  That  in  several  cases  in  the  Old 
Testament  the  angel  was  not  at  first  recognised  as  such, 
proves  that  he  appeared  in  ordinary  human  form. 
A  very  interesting  case  is  given  in  Gen.  xviii.  2,  where 
Abraham  saw  three  men  and  invited  them  to  take 
refreshment.  In  z/.  3  he  addresses  one  of  the  three  in 
the  singular  number,  recognising  him  apparently  as  the 
leader.  In  vv.  20,  21  Jehovah  speaks  of  the  sin  of 
Sodom  and  announces  His  purpose  to  go  down  and  see 
whether  it  is  as  He  has  heard.  We  then  read  in  v.  22  : 
"  the  men  turned  their  faces  from  thence  and  went 
towards  Sodom ;  and  Abraham  continued  standing 
before  Jehovah."  In  ch.  xix.  i  we  find  two  angels 
arriving  at  Sodom.  This  suggests  irresistibly  that  one 
of  the  three  had  remained  with  Abraham,  and  that  with 
him  Abraham  pleaded  for  Sodom.  The  two  men  tell 
Lot,  in  V.  13,  that  Jehovah  has  sent  them  to  destroy  the 
city.  But,  like  Abraham  the  day  before.  Lot  addresses, 
in  vv.  19,  21,  22,  one  of  the  two  angels  in  the  singular 
number  and  prays  to  him  only,  thus  recognising  the 
one  addressed  either  as  superior,  or  as  specially  com- 
missioned to  himself 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  "  angel  of  Jehovah " 


Lect.  XXXVI]  GOOD  AND  BAD  ^2$ 

either  always  or  in  some  cases,  was  the  uncreated  Son 
of  God  ;  and  this  has  been  given  as  an  explanation  of 
the  divine  authority  with  which  the  angels  sometimes 
speak.  Indeed  the  angel  of  Jehovah  has  been  appealed 
to  in  proof  of  the  existence  of  a  divine  Person  other 
than  the  Father.  But  this  argument  is  seriously 
weakened  by  the  fact  that  both  Abraham  and  Lot  pay 
special  deference  to  one  angel,  but  evidently  not  to  the 
same  angel.  It  is  further  weakened  by  the  total  silence 
of  the  New  Testament  about  this  identification  ;  and  by 
the  frequent  use  of  the  term  "  angel  of  the  Lord  "  in  the 
New  Testament  in  places  in  which  it  can  refer  only  to 
a  created  angel.  It  is  disproved  by  the  teaching  of 
Paul  in  Gal.  iii.  19  that  the  Law  was  "ordained  by  the 
agency  of  angels  ;  "  and  by  the  long  argument  summed 
up  in  Heb.  ii.  2,  "  if  the  word  spoken  through  angels 
proved  stcdfast,  and  every  transgression  and  dis- 
obedience received  just  recompense,  how  shall  we  escape 
if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation  .  .  .  spoken  through  the 
Lord  ? "  For  this  argument  implies  that  the  angels 
who  gave  the  Law  are  inferior  to  Christ. 

Apparently,  in  Old  and  New  Testaments,  angels  are 
created  superhuman  messengers  through  whom  God 
spoke  to  men  and  worked  out  His  purposes  among 
them.  That  they  sometimes  bore  apparently  human 
form,  was  an  anticipation  of  the  fuller  manifestation 
afterwards  given  by  the  Lord  of  angels  in  actual  human 
flesh  and  blood. 

In  Gen.  iii.  24  we  read  of  cherubs  guarding  with 
sword  of   flame  the  tree  of  life.     And  in  Ezek.  i.  5-25 


3^6  ANGELS  [Part  V 

we  read  of  four  living  creatures,  each  with  four  faces  and 
four  wings  :  and  in  ch.  x.  1-22  we  again  meet  the  same 
four  living  creatures,  who  are  now  spoken  of  as  cherubs. 
Similar  mysterious  beings  are  again  mentioned  in 
Rev.  iv.  6-8,  as  standing  around  the  throne  of  God. 
Their  cry  "  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty " 
recalls  that  of  the  Seraphs  in  Isa.  vi.  3.  We  have  here 
apparently  another  order  of  heavenly  beings,  not  sent  to 
earth  on  errands  of  mercy  or  anger  but  abiding  around 
the  throne  of  God  in  heaven  or  guarding  His  presence 
on  earth. 

In  Dan.  vii.  16,  x.  18  we  find  an  angel-interpreter  who 
instructs  the  prophet.  In  ch.  viii.  13-26  one  holy  one 
bids  another  to  interpret  a  vision  :  and  the  other,  who 
is  called  Gabriel,  does  so.  In  ch.  ix.  21  "the  man, 
Gabriel "  bears  to  Daniel,  while  he  prays,  a  special 
revelation.  Similarly  in  Rev.  xix.  9,  10,  xxii.  8,  9,  an 
angel  shows  to  John  "things  which  must  needs  be 
quickly."  Yet  he  refuses  worship  on  the  ground  that 
he  is  but  a  fellow-servant. 

In  Dan.  x.  13  we  read  of''  Michael,  one  of  the  first 
princes,"  in  z;.  21  of  "Michael,  your  prince,"  in  ch.  xii.  i 
of  "  Michael,  the  great  prince  which  stands  for  the  sons 
of  thy  people;"  and  in  ch.  x.  13,  20  of  the  princes  of 
Persia  and  of  Greece.  These  must  be  angel-princes  ; 
and  were  apparently  in  special  charge  of  Israel,  Persia, 
and  Greece.  In  remarkable  agreement  with  this,  but  in 
a  totally  different  connection,  we  read  in  Matt,  xviii.  10, 
"  their  angels  do  ever  see  the  face  of  My  Father  in 
heaven."     In  Dan.  xii.   i,  Michael  is  placed  in   special 


Lect.  XXXVI]  GOOD  AND  BAD  327 

relation  to  the  general  resurrection  ;  in  close  agreement 
with  I  Thess.  iv.  16,  "the  Lord  Himself  with  a  shout, 
with  a  voice  of  an  archangel,  and  with  trumpet  of  God, 
will  come  down  from  heaven  ;  and  the  dead  in  Christ 
will  rise."  Also  in  Jude  9  we  read  of  "  Michael  the 
archangel;"  and  in  Rev.  xii.  7  of  "Michael  and  his 
angels  making  war  against  the  dragon."  The  term 
prmce^  rendered  in  the  Lxx.  apywy,  evidently  reappears 
in  the  first  syllable  of  the  word  arcJiangel. 

These  passages  describe,  even  among  those  whom  we 
may  call  ministering  angels,  in  distinction  from  those 
who  abide  before  the  throne,  a  distinction  of  ranks.  In 
Dan.  X.  13,  Michael  is  only  one  of  the  chief  princes  :  but 
in  ch.  xii.  i,  and  in  the  New  Testament,  he  seems  to 
hold  a  place  of  unique  dignity. 

Successive  ranks  of  angels  seem  to  be  indicated  in 
Rom.  viii.  38,  "  neither  angels,  nor  principalities ; "  in 
Eph.  i.  21,  "all  principality  and  authority  and  power  and 
lordship;"  in  Col.  i.  16,  "thrones,  or  lordships,  or 
principalities,  or  authorities ; "  and  in  I  Peter  iii.  22, 
"angels  and  authorities  and  powers."  The  word  ap-xai, 
r&nde^re^d  principalities,  again  recalls  the  ding^X-princes,  or 
archangels. 

In  Matt.  xiii.  41,  we  see  the  Son  of  Man  giving 
commands  to  angels  as  His  servants.  From  Heb.  i.  4 
we  learn  that  He  is  greater  than  they ;  and  from 
Col.  i.  16,  17  that  He  is  earlier  than  they,  and  that  in, 
through,  and  for  Him  they  were  created. 

The  transitory  glimpses  of  angels  given  in  these 
passages  are  of  great  interest.     In  them  we  see  intelli- 


328  ANGELS  [Part  V 

gent  creatures  raised  far  above  the  weakness  and  sin  of 
man  on  earth,  and  earlier  than  our  race,  yet  children  of 
our  Father  in  heaven,  created  by  and  for  the  Son  of 
God,  our  Lord  and  theirs,  obeying  and  worshipping  Him, 
yet  ministering  to  the  needs  of  us  their  brethren  on 
earth.  That  they,  so  much  greater  and  earlier  than  we, 
in  their  successive  ranks  bow  to  our  Lord,  reveals  the 
infinite  greatness  of  Him  who  was  "  born  before  every 
creature  "  and  was  "  raised  beyond  and  above  all  princi- 
pality and  authority  and  power  and  lordship  and  every 
name  named  not  only  in  this  age  but  also  in  the  coming 
one." 

In  I  Chron,  xxi.  I  we  read  that  "there  stood  up  an 
adversary  against  Israel  and  provoked  David  to  number 
Israel."  In  Job  i.  6  we  read  that  "  the  sons  of  God  came 
in  to  present  themselves  before  Jehovah,  and  the  adver- 
sary came  in  among  them."  This  "adversary"  smote 
Job  both  in  his  estate  and  body.  In  Zech.  iii.  17,  "the 
adversary"  stands  at  the  right  hand  of  the  angel  of 
Jehovah  "  to  be  adverse  to  him." 

In  the  New  Testament  the  Hebrew  word  Satan  which 
I  have  rendered  adversary  is  frequently  used  as  a  proper 
name  of  a  supreme  enemy  of  God  and  man.  Equally 
frequent  as  an  equivalent  name  of  the  same  great  enemy 
is  the  Greek  original  of  our  word  Devils  meaning 
accuser  or  slandere7\  (Cp.  2  Tim,  iii.  3,  Titus  ii.  3.)  In 
Matt.  xiii.  19,  38,  Eph.  vi.  16,  i  John  ii.  13,  14,  v.  18, 
19,  etc.,  he  is  called  "  the  wicked  one ;"  in  John  xii.  31, 
(xiv.  30,)   xvi.    II,  "the  prince  of  this  world;"  and  in 


Lect.  XXXVI]  GOOD  AND  BAD  329 

2  Cor.  iv.  4  he  bears  the  significant  title  "  the  god  of 
this  age."  In  all  the  various  writers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment we  find  mention  of  one  awful  personality  ever 
hostile  to  God  and  to  His  work  among  men.  He  is  the 
source  of  immediate  inward  spiritual  influences  tending 
to  lead  men  away  from  God.  So  Luke  viii.  12,  "then 
comes  the  Devil  and  takes  the  word  from  their  hearts, 
lest  they  should  believe  and  be  saved  ; "  and  ch.  xxii.  3, 
"  Satan  entered  into  Judas,  called  Iscariot."  In  Luke 
xiii.  16,  as  in  Job  ii.  7,  bodily  ailment  is  attributed  to 
him. 

With  Satan  are  associated  other  evil  spirits,  subord- 
inate allies  in  his  evil  work.  So  Matt.  xxv.  41,  "the 
Devil  and  his  angels  ; "  Rev.  xii.  7,  "  the  dragon  and  his 
angels."  We  read  frequently  in  the  Gospels,  and  in 
I  Cor.  X.  20,  21,  James  ii.  19,  of  defnons,  who  are 
evidently  evil  spirits.  In  Eph.  ii.  2,  we  read  of  the 
prince  of  the  authority  of  the  air,  of  the  spirit  now 
working  in  the  sons  of  disobedience."  This  iriiplies  a 
spiritual  influence  subordinate  to  the  prince  of  evil. 
Similarly,  in  ch.  vi.  1 1,  12  we  read  of  "the  wiles  of  the 
Devil,"  and  of  conflict  with  "  the  principalities,  with  the 
authorities,  with  the  world-rulers  of  this  darkness,  with 
the  spiritualities  of  wickedness  in  the  heavenlies."  This 
last  passage  suggests  various  ranks  of  superhuman  foes 
analogous  to  the  successive  ranks  of  good  angels. 

The  above  passages  and  many  others  similar  imply 
that  behind  and  beneath  the  various  evil  influences 
around  us  are  personal  opponents  of  God  and  man 
using  these  influences   to  work   out   their    own  deadly 


3^)0  ANGELS  [Part  V 

purposes  ;  and  that  behind  all  these,  directing  their 
activity  and  giving  to  it  a  hostile  unity,  is  one  mys- 
terious enemy,  the  changeless  antagonist  of  all  that  is 
good.  This  realm  of  evil,  acting  under  its  chief,  is  an 
awful  counterpart  to  the  realm  of  good,  material  and 
immaterial,  impersonal  and  personal,  controlled  by,  and 
working  out  the  purposes  of,  God.  That  evil  in  man 
stands  in  relation  to  unseen  persons  and  a  person 
mightier  than  man,  is  in  complete  harmony  with  its 
superhuman  power  and  with  the  abnormal  unity  under- 
lying its  infinite  diversity.  These  indications  of  the 
presence  of  personal  spiritual  enemies  give  to  the 
Christian  life  the  tremendous  reality  of  a  personal 
struggle  against  superhuman  personal  antagonists.  This 
is  finely  brought  out  in  Eph.  vi.  1I-17.  But  He  who 
has  called  us  to  the  fight  has  armed  us  for  it ;  and  makes 
us  in  all  things  more  than  conquerors. 

Since  whatever  exists  has  been  created  by  God 
through  the  Son,  we  infer  with  certainty  that  Satan  and 
his  angels  are  creatures  of  God.  If  so,  they  have  fallen  : 
and  this  suggests  a  probation  in  which  they  failed.  This 
is  taught  in  Jude  6,  "  angels  which  kept  not  their  own 
principality,"  i.e.  place  of  pre-eminence.  So  2  Peter  ii.  4, 
"  God  spared  not  angels  when  they  sinned."  For  them 
is  reserved  punishment :  Jude  6,  Matt.  xxv.  41. 

That  some  superhuman  beings  have  fallen,  suggests 
that  all  have  had  probation.  If  so,  the  holy  angels 
have  been  victorious  where  others  have  failed.  We  may 
therefore  look  upon  those  happy  spirits,  whose  joy  is  to 
help  us  their  younger  brethren,  as   having   themselves 


Lect.  XXXVI]  GOOD  AND  BAD  331 

experienced  the  fierceness  of  conflict,  and  now  as  victors 
helping  us  who  are  still  in  the  heat  of  battle.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  who  in  that  conflict  have  failed  are 
using  their  powers  to  destroy  others.  In  other  words, 
the  teaching  before  us  implies  that  the  influence  of  one 
upon  another,  for  good  or  evil,  so  conspicuous  a  feature 
of  human  life  on  earth,  extends  beyond  the  limits  of  our 
race  ;  and  that  the  moral  conflict  raging  all  around  us 
is  part  of  a  conflict  wider  than  the  great  world  in  which 
we  live  and  the  race  to  which  we  belong. 


LECTURE   XXXVII 

MAN  A  T  REST  IN  GOD 

TTTE  will  now  review  the  results   attained   in   this 

'  ^        second  volume  of  lectures,  and  in  some  measure 

the   practical    results    attained  in    the  two  volumes    in 

which  I  have  discussed   the  THEOLOGY  OF  PERSONAL 

Religion. 

We  have  found  complete  proof  that  man  is  an  off- 
spring of  a  Father  in  heaven,  created  in  order  that  in 
him  eternal  love  may  have  an  object  worthy  of  Itself, 
an  object  to  be  enriched  with  the  infinite  wealth  of  God  ; 
and  that  he  was  endowed  with  intelligence  in  order  that 
man  may  know  God,  and  with  free  determination  in  order 
that  man  may  choose  God  as  the  supreme  Object  of  his 
love  and  the  goal  of  his  entire  activity.  On  this  intelli- 
gent and  free  self-devotion  to  God,  was  made  contingent 
the  highest  well-being  of  man. 

From  this  divinely-given  goal  and  aim  of  our  being, 
we  have  all  turned  away.  We  chose  instead,  as  the  aim 
of  life,  the  fleeting  things  around  ;  and  in  pursuit  of  them 
we  transgressed  the  limits  marked  out  for  us  by  our 
Creator.  We  thus  fell  under  His  frown,  and  exposed 
ourselves  to  the  penalty  threatened  against  sin.     At  the 

333 


Lect.  XXXVII]  MAN  AT  REST  IN  GOD  333 

same  time  we  became  helpless  victims  of  the  objects  we 
had  chosen  instead  of  God  to  be  the  aim  of  our  life  ;  and 
we  fell  a  prey  to  the  degrading  bondage  of  sin.  Thus, 
by  turning  away  from  the  path  marked  out  for  us  by 
God,  we  wandered  into  a  path  leading  inevitably  to  ruin. 

Of  this  frown  of  God,  of  this  degrading  bondage,  and 
of  this  impending  ruin,  men  are  more  or  less  conscious. 
A  monitor  enthroned  within  claims  obedience  to  its 
commands :  and  we  know  that  its  voice  is  the  voice  of 
our  Creator  and  Judge.  These  commands  secured  at 
once  our  approval  as  right  and  good ;  and  evoked 
resolves  and  attempts,  more  or  less  earnest  and  sustained, 
to  obey  them.  But  these  efforts  only  revealed  to  us 
more  or  less  clearly  and  painfully  the  helplessness  of  our 
bondage  and  the  completeness  of  our  ruin.  The  only 
alternative  open  to  us  w^as  ineffectual  beating  against 
the  bars  of  our  prison  or  the  deadly  sleep  of  spiritual 
insensibility. 

While  thus  we  lay  in  helpless  ruin,  there  came  to  us, 
from  one  who  claimed  the  homage  of  whatever  in  us 
is  noblest  and  best,  a  promise  of  pardon  for  past  sin,  of 
deliverance  from  the  present  power  of  sin,  of  restoration 
to  the  family  of  God,  and  of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  be 
in  us  the  animating  Source  of  a  new  life  of  obedience 
to  God.  These  glad  tidings  of  salvation,  we  traced  to 
the  lips  of  the  Author  of  a  great  religious  impulse 
which  has  turned  back  the  whole  course  of  human  life 
and  history  from  stagnation  and  decay  to  sustained 
progress.  We  learned  from  Him  and  from  His  im- 
mediate followers  that  this  great  salvation  was  brought 


334  MAN  AT  REST  [Part  V 

about  by  His  own  death  on  the  cross.  We  learned  also 
that  He  claimed  to  be  in  a  unique  sense  the  Son  of  God  ; 
and  that  in  proof  of  this  claim  He  came  forth  living 
from  the  grave  in  which  He  had  lain  dead. 

This  promise  of  salvation,  so  wonderfully  confirmed, 
we  ventured  to  believe.  The  costliness  of  the  sacrifice 
revealed  to  us  the  earnestness  of  the  purpose  of  Him 
who,  to  save  man,  Himself  became  Man  and  gave 
up  Himself  to  death  for  man's  sin.  And  the  power 
which  rescued  from  corruption,  and  restored  to  life, 
the  body  which  lay  dead  in  the  grave  assured  us  not 
only  that  Christ  has  authority  to  pardon  sin  but  that 
He  is  able  to  raise  us  from  the  moral  corruption  of 
spiritual  death.  We  therefore  ventured  to  accept  His 
proclamation  of  pardon  and  His  promise  of  spiritual 
restoration.  By  so  doing,  we  entered  the  number  of  the 
forgiven.  And  the  proclamation  of  pardon  for  all  who 
believe  became  to  us,  through  our  own  faith,  an  announce- 
ment of  our  own  personal  forgiveness.  Our  faith  was  at 
once  confirmed  by  an  inward  power  over  sin  such  as  we 
had  never  before  experienced.  Moreover,  moved  by  a 
new  inspiration,  we  became  conscious  of  a  relationship 
to  God  not  recognised  before  ;  and,  lost  orphans  as  till 
then  we  had  been,  we  found  ourselves  children  of  a 
loving  Father  and  God.  In  this  new  knowledge  of  God, 
our  intelligence,  created  by  divine  Intelligence  in  order 
that  it  may  know  its  Creator,  attained  a  satisfaction  not 
enjoyed  before.  The  new  Spirit  put  within  us  became 
the  animating  principle  of  a  new  life,  gave  to  us  new 
faculties,   and    raised    us   into   a    new    spiritual    world. 


Lect.  XXXVII]  IN  GOD  335 

Thus  our  adoption  into  the  family  of  God  was  confirmed 
by  a  new  birth  into  a  new  Hfe  and  a  new  world. 

Christ  claimed,  for  Himself  and  for  the  advancement 
of  His  Kingdom,  the  unreserved  devotion  of  those  whom 
He  saves.  To  this  claim,  the  love  manifested  on  His 
cross  gave  the  force  of  an  irresistible  appeal.  Moreover 
His  work  of  saving  the  perishing  and  of  building  up,  out 
of  the  fragments  of  lost  humanity,  a  glorious  and  eternal 
Kingdom  of  God,  aroused  in  us  loyal  enthusiasm.  We 
accepted  it  as  the  one  aim  of  our  life.  And  this  aim, 
thus  adopted,  gave  satisfaction  to  our  intelligence,  and 
to  our  life  unity  and  worth.  We  felt  that  the  Master 
who  claimed  our  devotion,  and  the  object  for  which  He 
claimed  it,  were  worthy  of  all,  and  more  than  all,  we  had 
to  give.  And,  moved  by  compassion  for  the  victims  of 
sin,  and  by  the  love  manifested  on  the  cross  of  Christ, 
we  laid  ourselves,  our  powers,  possessions,  influence, 
and  life  upon  the  altar  already  consecrated  by  the  blood 
of  Christ,  with  deep  gratitude  that  we  were  permitted 
to  join  our  worthless  gift  to  His  great  sacrifice. 

In  spite  of  this  consecration,  we  soon  found  that 
the  battle  with  sin  was  not  yet  over.  Our  inborn  evil 
nature  and  the  accumulated  results  of  past  indulgence 
in  sin  reasserted  themselves,  and  strove  hard  to  regain 
their  lost  dominion,  and  threatened  to  thwart  our 
earnest  purpose.  We  looked  for  help  to  Him  who  had 
promised  to  save ;  and  we  ventured  to  expect  it.  To 
our  joy  and  gratitude,  an  unseen  Hand  gave  to  us  a 
deliverance  we  had  not  known  before.  We  found  our- 
selves protected  by  the  impenetrable  armour  of  God. 
23 


336  MAN  AT  REST  [Part  V 

This  victory,  however,  we  found  to  be  conditioned  by, 
and  proportionate  to,  our  faith.  Whenever  we  wandered 
from  our  refuge,  we  at  once  became  vulnerable,  and  fell 
back  into  bondage  and  sin.  But  even  for  this  sad  case 
provision  was  made :  "  if  any  one  sin,  we  have  an 
Advocate  with  the  Father."  We  returned  again  as  we 
came  at  first,  and  found  in  Christ  pardon  and  liberation. 
Thus  our  whole  spiritual  life  is  wrought  in  us  by  God, 
but  is  conditioned  by  faith  in  Christ.  Christ  lives  in  us  ; 
and  we  live  in  faith. 

The  whole  of  life  was  now  changed.  The  principles 
of  morality  which  we  had  long  recognised  as  the  Law 
of  God,  but  which  had  been  only  an  external  and 
constraining  power,  became  an  inward  light  guiding  our 
feet  safely  amid  the  moral  perils  around.  It  became 
the  voice  and  wisdom  of  that  Spirit  of  God  who  had 
breathed  into  us  new  life  and  power.  In  this  changed 
position  of  the  moral  Law,  whose  authority  we  dared  not 
dispute  even  in  our  deep  sin,  now  enthroned  in  the  joyful 
homage  of  our  hearts,  we  found  additional  confirmation 
of  the  Gospel  which  announced  our  forgiveness. 

Our  environment  was  also  changed.  Our  bodies,  no 
longer  a  throne  of  sin,  have  become  living  stones  of  the 
temple  of  God.  Our  fellow-men,  whose  smile  we  once 
courted,  and  before  whose  frown  we  trembled,  are  now 
objects  of  Christian  love  and  of  efforts  to  bless.  Our 
fellow-Christians  are  to  us  an  abiding  joy  and  strength. 
We  are  no  longer  at  the  mercy  or  mercilessness  of  the 
mysterious  and  irresistible  forces  of  nature  :  for  we  have 
learned  that  they  are   in    the  hands  of  our  Father  in 


Lect.  XXXVII]  IN   GOD  337 

heaven,  and  are  working  out  His  purposes  of  blessing 
to  us.  Thus  in  Christ  is  a  New  Creation  :  the  old  things 
have  passed  away  ;  they  have  become  new. 

This  New  Life,  like  all  other  normal  life,  is  marked 
by  growth.  The  experiences  of  the  service  of  Christ 
develop  wisdom.  Our  daily  intercourse  with  God  in 
Christ  affords  increasing  knowledge  of  God,  of  Christ, 
of  His  purpose  to  save,  and  of  the  way  in  which  we  may 
best  advance  it.  This  increasing  knowledge,  revealing 
with  greater  clearness  the  infinite  love  of  God  to  us  and 
to  all  men,  increases  our  love  to  God  and  the  earnestness 
of  our  purpose  to  save  those  for  whom  Christ  died. 
Every  act  of  obedience  makes  obedience  more  easy  : 
and  every  work  for  God  makes  work  for  God  more 
delightful.  Thus  in  a  faith  ever  broadening  and 
strengthening  in  its  grasp  of  the  promises  of  God,  in  a 
wisdom  daily  penetrating  further  into  the  mysteries 
and  counsels  of  God,  and  in  a  love  to  God  ever  kindling 
into  a  brighter  flame,  the  servant  of  Christ  notes  in 
himself  the  marks  of  spiritual  progress. 

As  helps  for  spiritual  growth,  God  has  provided 
definite  means  of  grace.  Among  these,  private  prayer 
holds  a  unique  place  as  a  mode  of  personal  approach  to, 
and  contact  with,  God,  and  a  means  of  spiritual  nourish- 
ment available  for  every  one  at  every  moment.  To  this 
may  be  added  personal  study  of  the  historical  revelations 
of  God  to  man  recorded  in  Holy  Scripture.  Other 
definite  channels  have  been  ordained  by  God  in  the 
social  life  of  the  Church,  e.g.  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
the  symbolic  rites  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 


338  MAN  AT  REST  [Part  V 

united  prayer  and  spiritual  conversation,  and  co-operation 
in  various  kinds  of  work  for  the  souls  and  bodies  of 
men.  These  have  in  all  ages  been  means  of  untold 
blessing.  They  are  the  spiritual  endowments  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  the  company  of  His  professed 
followers.  Apart  from  them,  the  spiritual  life  would 
lack  its  needful  shelter  and  nourishment.  The  Church 
has  been  in  all  ages  and  by  divine  appointment,  amid 
much  imperfection  and  sometimes  deep  corruption, 
the  earthly  home  of  the  family  of  God  in  which  the 
spiritual  life  has  been  guarded  and  developed ;  and 
the  divinely-ordained  agency  for  carrying  the  Gospel 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  This  great  topic  will  be  the 
subject  of  my  next  volume. 

In  the  manner  expounded  above,  and  by  these  means, 
personal  religion  attains  or  may  attain  a  certain  degree 
of  completeness.  We  have  seen  man,  fallen  from  God 
and  fallen  under  bondage  to  sin,  now  set  free  and 
restored  to  life-giving  communion  with  God,  to  inward 
peace,  and  to  harmony  with  his  environment.  But, 
though  complete  in  its  measure,  this  salvation  is  yet 
incomplete.  For  the  servants  of  Christ  are  not  yet  set 
entirely  free  from  the  curse  pronounced  against  sin  ; 
and  the  real  grandeur  of  their  position  is  still  in  great 
measure  veiled.  We  wait  for  the  triumphant  unveiling 
of  the  sons  of  God.  Those  living  on  earth  are  exposed 
to  inward  spiritual  conflict ;  many  of  them,  to  the 
assault  of  bad  men,  to  bodily  and  mental  pain.  Others, 
while  delivered  from  conflict  and  pain,  are  but  fugitive 
spirits  exiled  from  the  world  which  God  created  to  be 


Lect.  XXXVII]  IN  GOD  339 

their  home.  For  their  complete  victory  over  evil,  and 
for  the  final  and  perfect  glory,  we  wait  for  the  foot- 
step of  our  returning  Lord,  who  will  transfigure  the 
body  of  our  humiliation  conformed  to  the  body  of  His 
glory,  according  to  the  working  of  His  ability  to  subdue 
all  things  to  Himself  This  consummation,  the  necessary 
completion  of  the  work  already  begun  in  the  hearts  of 
the  servants  of  Christ,  will  be  the  subject  of  a  fourth 
volume  of  these  lectures. 

At  the  beginning  of  my  earlier  volume,  I  spoke  of 
Religion  as  "  such  conception  of  the  Unseen  as  makes 
for  righteousness."  We  can  now  supplement  this 
general  definition  of  all  religion  by  a  specific  description 
of  the  religion  taught  by  Christ.  This  last  may  be 
summed  up  as  LOYALTY  TO  Christ  and  to  His 
Kingdom.  For  such  loyalty  to  Him  implies  a  definite 
CONCEPTION  of  Christ  and  God,  whom  we  have  NEVER 
SEEN  :  and  this  conception,  more  than  any  other  known 
to  us,  MAKES  FOR  RIGHTEOUSNESS.  The  transition 
from  the  general  definition  given  before  and  the  specific 
description  now  given  has  been  brought  about,  in  part 
by  the  revelation  of  God  in  nature,  but  chiefly  by  the 
historic  revelations  given  under  the  Old  Covenant  and 
especially  in  Christ.  By  these  means,  our  conception  of 
the  unseen  has  become  knowledge  of  a  Father  in  heaven, 
the  intelligent  and  righteous  Creator  and  Ruler  of  the 
universe  and  of  man,  who  so  loved  us  that  He  gave  His 
eternal  Son  to  become  Man,  to  die  for  man,  and  to  rise 
from  the  dead,  in  order  to  rescue  man  from  ruin  and  to 
build  up  the  rescued  ones  into  an  eternal  and  glorious 


340  MAN  AT  REST  IN  GOD  [Part  V 

Kingdom  of  God  ;  and  who  now  day  by  day  sends  forth 
His  Spirit  to  be  in  them  the  animating  principle  of  a  life 
Hke  that  of  Christ.  We  have  found  by  actual  and 
abundant  experience  that  this  conception  of  One  whom 
we  have  never  seen  makes  for  righteousness.  For  it 
both  gives  clearness  and  authority  to  our  moral  sense 
and  prompts  and  enables  us  to  do  what  it  commands. 
As  a  conception  of  the  unseen  resting  upon  abundant 
and  decisive  evidence,  and  as  a  stimulus  to  right  doing, 
the  most  effective  we  can  conceive,  it  is  the  highest 
form  of  religion  known  to  man.  And,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  nations  which  profess  this  religion  have  a  practical 
monopoly  of  all  that  is  best  on  earth.  Many  indications 
attest  that,  before  two  or  three  generations  have  passed, 
whatever  religion  there  is  in  the  world,  z.e.  whatever 
conception  of  the  Unseen  making  for  righteousness,  will 
be  associated  with  homage  to  Christ.  These  external 
benefits  of  Christianity,  and  the  infinitely  greater  inward 
and  spiritual  blessings  which  it  conveys  to  those  who 
embrace  it,  in  proportion  as  they  embrace  it,  and  its 
spreading  sway,  are  complete  proof  that  this  conception 
rests  on  objective  reality.  On  that  reality,  thus  re- 
vealed, we  rest  securely.  In  our  darkness  we  have  seen 
the  Day-star  rising.  And  already  the  Day  is  dawning. 
Towards  that  dawning  Light,  we  turn  our  feet.  Amid 
the  darkness  and  dangers  around,  it  reveals  to  us  a  path 
of  safety,  and  cheers  us  on  our  way.  The  path  is 
encompassed  by  foes  ;  but  an  unseen  Hand  protects 
us.  And  before  us,  far  off  yet  full  in  view,  are  the 
open  gates  of  our  Father's  house  in  heaven. 


GENERAL     INDEX 


Abba,  Father 

Abraham's  Covenant  with  God 

Adoption 

Angel  of  Jehovah 

Angels    . 

Angels,  Fallen 

Arminians,  the 

Arminius,  Teaching  of  . 

Assurance  of  Salvation  . 

Athletic  Contests  of  Greece    . 

Augustine,  Prayer  of 

Augustine's  Reproof  and  Grace, 

quoted         .... 
Babes  in  Christ 

Baptism  .         .         .84, 

Bezaleel.         .         .         .66, 
Bible,  a  Means  of  Grace 
Blunt's   Dicaonary   of  Sects, 

quoted 
Body,  the  Human 
Book  of  Life,  the 
Calvin's  Institutes,  quoted 
Cherubs 

Children  of  God  . 
Christ,  Divinity  of. 
Church  of  Christ,  the 
Creation  of  Matter 
Death,  Spiritual  . 
Demons  .  • 
Devil,  the      .         ; 


PAGE 
69 

53tT 
324 
323 
330 
274 
273 
75tt" 
i99f 
146 

271 
212 
217 
144 
217 

276 

5f 
248 
270 
325 

52 
316 
229 
250 

2of 

3^9 
328 


PAGE 

Dort,  Synod  of   ,    ,    .  274 

Faith i48ff 

Fall  of  Man  ....  28 
Fatherhood  of  God  .  .  286 
Filioque  .         .         .         "310 

Flesh 8f 

Foreknowledge  of  God  .  .  245 
Freedom,  Human  .  .  .  255ff 
Geological  Remains  of  Man  .  33 
Growth  in  the  New  Life  .  2o8ff 
Heirs  of  God  .         .         .      55f 

Hereditary  Depravity  .  .  30 
Hezekiah's  Prayer .  ,  ,  218 
Holiness  of  Christ .  .  .110 
Holiness  of  God  .  .  .  290 
Holiness  of  the  Spirit  of  God  312 
Huxley's  Zay  ■^^^'wc'wj,  quoted  259 
Intercession  of  Christ  .  .  226 
Intercession  of  the  Spirit  227,  308 
John  the  Baptist  .  .  .112 
Justification    ....       48 

Kadesh 100 

Korah 117 

Law,  Antagonism  of  Paul  to 

the 187 

Law  of  God  .  .  .  .  i82ff 
Levitical  Ritual  .  ,  .125 
Life,  Origin  of  .  .  .251 
Love  of  God  to  Man  .  135,  287 
Love  to  God .         .        ,         .132 


542 


GENERAL    INDEX 


PAGE 

PAGE 

Michael,  the  An<;el-prince 

326 

Repentance    . 

. 

47 

Mill's  Logic,  quoted 

.     257 

Saints    . 

. 

116 

,  118 

Moral  Sense,  the    . 

iif 

Samson  . 

. 

66 

144 

Natural  Depravity 

25 

Sanctificatit)n 

. 

. 

95ff 

Natural  Law  in   Relation   U 

Sanctifying  Faith   . 

. 

153 

Prayer 

225 

Satan      . 

. 

. 

328 

Nazarite,  the  . 

.     106 

Sin  in  Believers 

. 

. 

i75ff 

Necessity,  Doctrine  of  . 

258 

Sin,  Nature  of 

. 

•  43-45 

Nicene  Creed 

310 

Sons  of  God  . 

. 

5off 

Objective  Holiness 

99 

Spencer's     Synth  it  ic 

Philo- 

Paul's  Requests  for  Prayer 

220 

sophy,  quoted 

. 

259 

Paraclete,  the 

303f 

Spencer's  Psychology, 

quoted . 

259 

Perry's  English   Church  His 

Spirit,  Nature  of    . 

, 

. 

5 

tory,  quoted 

276 

Spirit  of  Adoption  . 

. 

. 

63ff 

Perseverance  of  Believers 

204ff 

Spirit  of  the  Truth 

, 

305^ 

Personality  of  God 

317 

Subjective  Holiness 

. 

. 

100 

Personality  of  the  Spirit 

306-8 

Supper  of  the  Lord 

. 

217 

Prayer    .... 

.  2l8ff 

Trinity,  the    . 

32if 

Preaching  the  Gospel     . 

215 

Wesley's  Teaching  on 

P.e 

Jes- 

Predestination 

.      247 

tination 

. 

275 

,277 

Procession  of  the  Spirit  . 

309 

Westminster     Confession 

of 

Religion,  Definition  of  . 

339 

Faith . 

, 

, 

275 

Remonstrant  Articles  quoted 

273 

Witness  of  the  Spirit 

. 

. 

73ff 

INDEX  TO   THE   PRINCIPAL   PASSAGES  OF  HOLY 
SCRIPTURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  THIS  VOLUME 


OLD    TESTAMENT 


Genesis 

xxix.  I 

99 

Deuteronon[y 

i.  26    . 

162 

xxix.  21 

9^ 

iv.  I,  etc.     . 

56 

i.  26-28       . 

58 

xxix.  37 

97f 

vi.  4f  . 

132 

i.29    .        . 

122 

xxix.  44 

99 

vii.  6  . 

98 

ii.  3     • 

0     97 

XXX.  29 

97f 

XV.  19. 

95 

ii-  7     •    9,  15,  5 

8,  142 

XXX.  32 

98 

xxiii.  17 

100 

ii.  17  . 

28 

xxxi.  2f 

66 

XXX.  6. 

146 

iii.  24  . 

.     325 

xxxi.  14 

97 

iv.  20,  22     . 

33 

xxxii.  11-14 

218 

JO....L'A 

ix.  3    .        . 

122 

xxxiii.  23     . 

218 

iii.  5   .       . 

lOI 

xiv.  7  . 

100 

xl.  9-13       • 

.      99 

V.  15   • 

lOI 

XV.  3,  4,  8  . 

56 

vi.  19  . 

lOI 

xvi.  7-1 1      . 

324 

XX.  7   . 

I  oof 

xvi.  14 

100 

Leviticus 

xviii.  2,  3,  2j  22 

324 

ii.  3    • 

97 

Judges 

xix.  I,  13,  19-22 

324 

vi.  18  . 

.      98 

xiii.  25 

66 

XX.    I 

.     100 

X.  3     . 

290 

xiv.  5f 

66 

xxxviii.  21   . 

.     100 

xi.  44  .        .     10 

0,  290 

xvii.  3 

lOI 

1.    12     . 

.     193 

xi.  45  . 

96 

xix.  18 

.     134 

I  Samuel 

Exodus 

xix.  24 

.      98 

xix.  11-21    . 

323 

iii.  5    . 

94 

XX.  26 

.      96 

iv.  22f 

51,  55 

xxvii.  9-21,  28f 

.      98 

2  Samuel 

xiii,  2,  T2    . 

95 

xxvii.  14      . 

.     100 

vii.  14 

51 

xix.  6  . 

•      95 

xxiii.  if 

66 

xix.  14 
xix.  22 

.      99 

.       ICO 

Numbers 

xxiv.  i6f 

324 

xix.  23 

97 

iii.  I2f 

95,  99 

2  Kings 

XX.  8,  II      .       9 

7,  100 

vi.  5,  8,  20  . 

.      98 

iv.  9    . 

102 

XX.    II 

.      99 

viii.  i6f       . 

.      95 

XXV.  8 

•      97 

xiii.  26 

.     100 

I  Chronicles 

xxvi.  33       . 

.      97 

xvi.  3,  5,  10 

•     "7 

vi.  72  . 

.     100 

xxuii.  41     , 

.      99 

xvi.  38 

.      98 

xxi.  I  . 

.     328 

343 


344 


INDEX  TO  PASSAGES  OF  SCRIPTURE 


PAGE 

2  Chronicles 

Ixxxix.  5,  7 

PAGE 

lOI 

xxviii.  l3     . 

PAGE 

104 

xxiii.  6 

102, 

117 

cvi.  16 

lOI 

xxxvi.  25 

146 

Nehemiah 

cxix.  97,  105 

187 

Daniel 

xi.  I     . 

108 

Isaiah. 
i.  4      . 

290 

vii.  16 

vii.  18,  22,  25,  27 

326 

Joi; 

iv.  3    . 

102 

102 

,  "7 

11  :    : 

50. 

lOI 

328 

vi.  3    .         .     290 
xxix.  10 

326 

267 

ix.  21  . 

X.   13,  18,  20f 

326 

326 

ii.  7     . 

329 

xxxvii.  14-35 

218 

xii.  I    . 

326 

V.     I         .              , 

XV.  14 . 

lOI 

27 

Iviii.  13 
Ixii.  12 

97 
102 

HOSEA 

XV.  15  . 

lOI 

i.  10    . 

51 

xxxviii.  7     . 

50 

J F REM  I  AH 

Psalms 

i.  5     . 

109 

Joel 

ii.  28f 

146 

xvi.  3  . 

. 

lOI 

EZEKIEL 

xxxiv.  9 

lOI 

i.  5-25 

325 

Zechariah 

li.  4f   .        . 
li.  7,  10       . 

• 

26 

H7 

n,  I,  2 

x.  1-22 

67 
326 

iii  17  •     .     • 

XI  v.   20f 

328 

102 

NEJF  TESTAMENT 


Matthew 

i.  21     . 

175 

iii.  II  . 

65 

iv.  5     . 

108 

iv.  21  . 

210 

V.  9,  44f       • 

53 

V.  16,  45      . 

58 

vi.  9-13 

219 

vi.  24-34      . 

192 

vii.  7   . 

219 

ix.  22,  29     . 

152 

X.  20  . 

65 

xi.  10  . 

323 

xi.  29  . 

164 

xiii.  19,  38  . 

328 

xiii.  41 

327 

xvi.  17 

9 

xviii.  10 

326 

xix.  28 

170 

xxi.  22 

152 

xxii.  38 

132 

xxii.  39 

134 

xxiii.  17,  19 

.     108 

xxiv.  15 

108 

XXV.  41 

.   329f 

xxvii.  53      . 

108 

xxviii.  19     . 

308 

Mark 

xiii.  16 

329 

i.  2 

323 

xiii.  24 

198 

i.  24 

no 

XV.  II,  24    . 

58 

v.  41 

69 

XX.  36 

53 

vi.  20 

109.  112 

xxii.  3 

329 

vii.  34 

69 

ix.  23 

. 

152 

John 

xi.  22 

153 

i.  3,  10,  17  . 

161 

xi.  23f 

222 

i.  12    .        .  52, 

60,  83 

xi.  25 

58 

i.  13    . 

85 

xiv.  36 

69,  218 

i-  26,  33       . 

84 

XV.  34 

69 

ii.  21    . 

III 

xvi.  15 

215 

iii.  3-8 
iii.  5    . 

84 
.      88 

Luke 

iii.  5r .      . 

27 

i-  35 

no 

iii.  16  . 

287 

i.  70 

109 

iii.  17. 

161 

ii.  22-2 

4       • 

182 

iii.  36  .         . 

21 

ii.  23 

108 

iv  34  . 

III 

vi.   12 

218 

V.  19.  30      . 

III 

vi.  36 

58 

V.  24   . 

21,81 

vii.  24 

27    . 

323 

V.  36   .         . 

73 

viii.  12 

329 

V.  40  . 

264 

ix.  26 

109 

vi.  38  .         . 

III 

ix.  52 

323 

VI.  44  . 

264 

xi.  2 

219 

VI.  44f 

40 

xi.  13 

.     14 

3.  219 

vi.  56  . 

166 

INDEX    TO  PASSAGES   OF  SCRIPTURE 


345 


PAGE 

PAGE 

PAGE 

vi.  69  . 

I  10 

xiv.  3.  17     .         •       73 

viii.  3f         .         .184 

vii.  38.         .      15 

1.    153 

XV.  8   . 

•       73 

viii.  4  . 

8 

viii.  32-36    . 

.            19 

XV.  9    . 

.     177 

viii.  8  . 

22,  41 

viii.  43 

•      53 

xvii.  28f 

•       57 

viii.  9  . 

.     305 

viii.  44 

.      28 

XX.  32. 

.       56 

viii.  10 

144,  165 

ix.  3     .         . 

193 

xxi.  28 

.     108 

viii.  12-14 

.       71 

X.  25    . 

.      73 

xxii.  16 

.       88 

viii.  12-17 

.      75 

X.  28    . 

206 

xxviii.  25 

.      67 

viii.  13 

8,179 

X.  36    .          . 

no 

viii.  14 

.    210 

XI.  4    . 

193 

Romans 

viii.  14-16 

.      72 

xii.  31 

.     1^2)!. 

i.  4      .         .        .no 

viii.  14-16,  19,  21       52 

xiii.  15 

163 

i.  7      . 

•     "5 

viii.  15           53,  69,  227 

xiv.  6  . 

161 

i.  n    . 

.    210 

viii.  15-18    .                 76 

xiv.  I3f 

219 

i.  24,  26.  28 

.      18 

viii.  16         .          66,  73 

xiv.  15,  26  . 

307 

ii.  1-29 

.      82 

viii.  17         .       55,  168 

xiv.  i6f 

&5 

ii.  4     . 

40,  42 

viii.  18         .         .     204 

xiv.  16,  26  . 

303 

ii.  15    . 

73,  i«2 

viii.  19         .         .55 

xiv.  18 

305 

ii.  26f 

•      41 

viii.  19-23    .         .       35 

xiv.  20 

167 

iii.  19  . 

23,  182 

viii.  23         .         .54 

XV.  1-8 

166 

iii.  20  . 

9 

viii.  26      227,  304,  308 

XV.  4f  . 

167 

iii.  24  . 

.     165 

viii.  27         .         -115 

XV.  6    . 

.    206 

iii.  25  . 

•      32 

viii.  28      134,  192,  245 

XV.  7    .         .     21 

9,  223 

V.   I-II 

.      76 

viii.  29         .       50,  245 

XV.   10,   12      . 

164 

V.   I,  2,  II.  12-21  .       161 

viii.  29,  35,  38f.  .     192 

XV.  26  .     303,  30 

7,  309f 

V.  2       .            .          49,  204 

viii.  32         .     288,  318 

xvi.  7  . 

303 

V.  5     .         69,  77,  133 

viii.  34         .         .     226 

xvi.  II 

328 

V.  8     .       70,  133.  287 

viii.  37         .         .    20of 

xvi.  I3f        .30 

3,  305 

V.  8,  10       .        .     318 

viii.  38         .     207,  327 

xvi.  24 

219 

V.  12,  15-19          .     27ff 

ix.  I    .         .         .73 

xvii.  4 

III 

V.  12-19       •         •       32 

ix.  6-13        .        .     247 

xvii.  II 

290 

vi.  2-11        .         .     170 

ix.  8    .         .         .52 

xvii.  19        .11 

0,  141 

vi.  2,  lof     .         .176 

ix.  18  .        .         .     268 

xvii.  21 

168 

vi.  6    .         .         .     175 

ix.  26  .        .        .51 

xvii.  21-23  . 

166 

vi.  6, 12, 17, 19,  20       17 

X.  14   .        .        .     215 

xvii.  22 

317 

vi.  10  .               Ill,  163 

x.  17    .         ,         .     265 

xvii.  24 

169 

vi.  II   .    150,  163,  165, 

xi.  8    .         .         .     267 

,        175 

xi.  20-23      .         .     205 

Acts 

vi.  II,  19     .          .     120 

xii.  I   .         .     iiof,  209 

i.  5      .        . 

143 

vi.  14  . 

.     183 

xii.  13.         .         .     115 

ii.  14-36      . 

245 

vi.  39  . 

.     165 

xiv.  6,  14     .         .     123 

ii.  17  . 

9 

vii.  1-4 

18 

xiv.  7  .         .         .120 

iii    14  . 

no 

vii.  4    . 

,    170.  i83f 

XV.  3     .            .            .Ill 

iii.  21  . 

109 

vii.  7   . 

.     182 

XV.  25f,  32.           .      115 

iv.  24  . 

228 

vii.  7f 

.     184 

XV.  3of         .         .     220 

iv.  27  . 

no 

vii.  14 

.     186 

xvi.  2  .         .         .115 

vi.  13  .         . 

108 

vii.  14-25     . 

18,  39,  64 

xvi.  25          .         .     246 

viu.  33 

108 

vii.  23 

8,  202 

X.  15    .         . 

122 

viii.  1-16 

.      82 

I  Corinthians 

X.  22    . 

109 

viii.  2  . 

.     186 

i.  2      .        .        .115 

X-  44,  47      . 

74 

viii.  2,  4,  9,  I3f  •     143 

i.  18    .        .        .    216 

xi.  15  . 

74 

viii.  2-16 

.       64 

ii.  7     . 

.    246 

346 


INDEX   TO  PASSAGES  OF  SCRIPTURE 


PAGE 

PAGE 

PAGE 

ii.  II  . 

.     66 

iii.  21,  23 

•     24 

Philippians 

iii.  i6. 

.   121 

iii.  26  . 

51,63 

i.  6   .   14 

I,  204,  211 

iii.  23  . 

III,  120 

iii.  26f 

.     60 

i.  9-11 

.   211 

iv.  15  . 

.   88 

iii.  26-iv.  7 

.     82 

ii.  4-8  . 

.   162 

vi.  9f  . 

.  185 

iii.  29  . 

•     55 

ii.  12  . 

.   198 

vi.  19  . 

.  I20f 

iv.  5  • 

•      .     63 

ii.  \2{ . 

141.  201 

vii.  14. 

.   121 

iv.  6   52f, 

63,  68f,  227 

ii.  15  . 

.    52 

vii.  34. 

.  ii9f 

iv.  7  . 

52,  55 

iii.  12  . 

.   212 

viii.  6  . 

160,  321 

iv.  21  . 

.  182 

iii.  12-14 

.   199 

ix.  20f 

.  186 

V.  i6f 

8,  64,  179 

iii.  21  . 

.   163 

ix.  23-27 

199,  206 

V.  16.  18,  22 

.  142 

X.  1-12 

.  206 

V.  16-26 

71 

82 

COLOSSIANS 

X.  17  . 

.  229 

V.  i6-vi.  10 

• 

X.  20f 

.  329 

V.  19-21 

.  185 

i.  i6f  . 

•   ^f 

xi.  I  . 

.  162 

V.  22  . 

.   64 

i.  20  . 

.   161 

xii.  3  . 

.  321 

vi.  14  . 

.  170 

i.  28  . 

.   216 

xii.  4-6,  1 1 

.  308 

vi.  15  . 

.  142 

i.  29  . 

.   201 

xii.  28. 

.  216 

ii.  11  f,  20 

.   170 

XV.  2lf 

28,  32 

EPHh 

SIANS 

ii.  12  . 

•   151 

XV.  44 

.   28 

i.  4   . 

119,  246 

ii.  13  . 

20,  171 

XV.  57 . 

.  200f 

i.  5   • 

53,89 

ii.  14  . 

.    24 

xvi.  21 

.   134 

i.  9   . 

.   246 

iii.  I  . 

.   170 

i.  I3f  • 

65,89 

iii.  24  . 

.    56 

2  CoRir 

;thians 

i.  13,  19 

i.  14,  18 

.   149 
.    56 

iv.  3f,  12 

.   220 

1.  II  . 

.  220 

i.  16-23 

.   220 

I  ThESSALONIANS 

i.  12  . 

•   f 

i.  I9f  . 

.   142 

i.  3.  12 
iii.  10  . 

.   210 

i.  22  . 

.   .   65 

i.  21  . 

.   327 

.   209,  211 

iii.  6  . 

.   24 

ii.  1-3.  5 

20 

iv.  16  . 

.   327 

.  ii9f,  209 

iv.4  . 
V.7  . 

.  329 

.  149 

ii.  2  . 
ii.  3  . 

.   329 

V.  23  . 

V.  13-17 
V.  15  . 

■  135 
.  120 

li.  4  . 
ii.5f  . 

.  287 
169,  171 

2  THESSALONIANS 

V.  17  .  14 

2,  165,  197 

ii.  10  . 

.  142 

i-  3   • 

.  210 

V.  18  . 

.  161 

ii.  13.  2of 

.  165 

ii.  13  . 

.  150 

v.  21  . 

.  113 

iii.  4-6 

•  247 

iii.  If  . 

.  220 

vii.  I  . 

.  176, 209 

iii.  14-19 

212,  220 

viii.  9  . 

.  162 

iii.  17. 

150*  305 

I  Timothy 

Gala 

riANS 

iv.  II  . 

iv.  I3f 
iv.  19  . 

.  216 
.  212 
.   19 

ii.  14  . 

iv.  4  . 
V.  6  . 

.   28 

.  122 

20 

ii.  16  . 
ii.  19  . 

51 
.  183 

iv.  24  . 
iv.  30  . 

.  142 

vi.  12  . 

.  199 

ii.  20  .  13 

3,  144.  149, 

V-  5   • 

.   56 

153,1^ 

)6,  170,  305 

V.  27  . 

.  119 

2  Timothy 

ii.  24  . 

.  170 

vi.  I  if 

.  329 

i.9f  . 

.  248 

iii.  2f  . 

.   64,  142 

vi.  11-17 

.  330 

i.  12  . 

.  153 

iii.  4  . 

.  149 

vi.  12  . 

.  200 

ii.  3f  . 

.  200 

iii.  8  . 

.    .   51 

vi.  16  . 

150,  202 

ii.  12  . 

.  170 

iii.  I3f 

.    .  142 

vi.  17  . 

.  305 

iv.  8 

.  199 

iii.  19  . 

.    .  32s 

vi.  I9f 

.  220 

iv.  18  . 

.    .  204 

INDEX   TO  PASSAGES   OF  SCRIPTURE 


347 


PAGE 

PAGE 

PAGE 

Titus 

ii.  5  .   .   .56 

iii.  14  . 

•   79 

ii.  14  .    .    .  177 

ii.  8-12 

.    .  187 

iii.  24  . 

79,  167 

iii.  5  .    .    .88 

ii.  19  . 

.  329 

IV.  4  . 

167,  201 

iii.  7  .    .    .56 

iv.  8,  16   . 

.  288 

I  Pr 

TER 

iv.  9  . 

.  161 

Philemon 

i-3   . 

.    86 

iv.  9f  . 

133.  318 

18   .   .   .29 

1.  4 

56 

iv.  10  . 

.  287 

i-  5 

•   15 

I.  177 

iv.  I2f 

80,  167 

Hebrews 

i.  II 

67 

iv.  15  . 

.  167 

i.  2   .    .   56,  161 

!-i5^ 

119 

iv.  16  . 

m^   167 

1.4   . 

.  327 

1.  i5f 

290 

iv.  19,  21 

•  134 

i.  14  . 

.   56 

i.  21 

161 

v.  I   . 

.   61 

ii.  2  . 

.  325 

i.  23 

87 

v.  I,  2 

.   86 

ii.  4  . 

.   74 

ii-  5 

161 

v.4f  . 

.  201 

ii.  10  . 

.  161 

ii.  5.  9 

121 

v.  I4f 

.  223 

ii.  10-12 

.   56 

ii.  21-24 

163 

ii.  17  . 

.  300 

iii.  15  . 

290 

JlTT>F. 

iii.  I  . 
iii.  2  . 

III,  116 
.  Ill 

iii.  I7f 
iii.  22  . 

163 
327 

6    .  * 
9 

•  330 
.  327 

iv,  9  . 

.  121 

iv.  I  . 

163 

V.  12-14 

.  213 

v.8f  . 

200 

vi.  10  . 

.  116 

Revelation 

vi.  I  If,  18 

.  151 

I  John 

ii.  7,  II,  17 

26  .  200 

vii.  25. 

161,  226 

i.  7,  9-    .    .  177 

iii.  7  . 

.  no 

ix.  14  . 

in,  177 

ii.  I  . 

.   304 

iii.  21  . 

.  169 

X.  10  . 

.  Ill 

ii.  6  . 

164,  166 

iv.  6-8 

.  326 

X.  15  . 

•   74 

ii.  12  . 

•   79 

iv.  8  . 

.  290 

xi. 

.  151 

ii.  12-14 

.  213 

V.  8  . 

.  116 

xii.  7f. 

.    .   56 

ii.  I3f 

.  200. 

viii.  3f 

.  116 

xii.  10 

.  290 

ii.  20  . 

.  no 

xii.  7  . 

.  327.  329 

xii.  14 

.-119 

ii.  29  . 

.   8s 

xii.  II 

.  200f 

xiii.  15,  21 

.  161 

ii.  29-iii.  24 

.   82 

xiii.  8  . 

.   248 

iii.  I,  2,  8 

.   85 

XV.  2  . 

.   200 

James 

iii.  I,  9f 

1^2 

xvii.  8. 

.   248 

i.  5f  .   .   .  222 

iii.  6  . 

166,  181 

xxi.  7  . 

.   200 

i.  18  . 

.   .   87 

iii.  9 

86 

xxi.  8  . 

.   207 

^*^                  Date  Due 

A^o 

^'^^2-i 

s' 

^smpvm 

w 

; 

1 

1 

, 

^ 

i 

Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  01004  0832 


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